Living in the Moment
by Kali Ayers
Summary: Kurama's mother's been pushing Kurama to get a girlfriend. Plus, living as a human is kind of boring. Anyone worth considering is out of the question, and anyone else is just not worth it. So what does he do?Naturally, he brings home a halfwild kitten
1. Living in the Moment

Hey. R.F. here,of course.

This one is new. Very new. (Forgive any typos, my keyboard's fuckin' up.). But anyway.

This one is so very new that I'm not done with it. I haven't even figured out the plot. I don't even know what I want the plot to be.

You are going to tell me.

I get no suggestions, you get no story.

This is Kurama fic, obviously. I think that poor Hiei has had enough damage done by my fingertips, don't you?

As always, feel free to tell me what you think.

Saijonara.

-R.F.

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**Living in the Moment: Considerations**

Shuuichi Minamino, also known as Kurama, formerly known as Youko Kurama, was thinking.

He was sitting in the chair in front of his desk at home, watching the little darts of movement of the tree leaves in the wind outside. He was holding a flower rose in his hand, stem resting between his fingers, the bowl of the petals resting in his cupped hand, absentmindedly opening and closing it, the lovely red bloom opening a petal at a time until the outermost petals were threatening to turn black, then closing and twisting until it was barely a green bud, only to open again.

He had gotten bored. That happened, from time to time—One could never make the transition from surviving day to day in demon world to living with easily attained comforts in the human world. His greatest challenges arose when someone chanced finding him out, and the only risks there were to other people that he felt he had to protect. Having given himself that noble task, he had closed off many options, many things he could be doing.

But as it was, he felt a great love for his mother, and his friends and fighting companions. He did the elementary school work; he helped his mother with the dishes and groceries...

As it was, he was entitled to let himself get bored. Here lately, things had been hectic. Nothing like real chaos, (as things had been when the city was being taken over by demons and demon insects, led by an insane man with seven people in his head to cope with every bit of evil he had done), but merely a little more difficult than normal homework and keeping himself out of trouble. This was dominantly due to the fact that his mother, having her own love life reawakened by her new husband, was trying to push him into the romance scene, where so many of his peers had been spending their years. He was not interested in finding some youngling human girl, nor boy, and trying to entertain the romance. If he chose a "special someone", ensnaring them would be too easy, with or without his powers. Humans were simple creatures, and even if they weren't, he was exceptionally clever and it would still be an effortless job. The hardest part would be putting them down without dropping them.

He considered, a few times, deliberately seeking out someone who was not interested. Unfortunately, he had to admit with a hint of pride, these were few and far between. He was young and handsome, after all, why wouldn't they consider him a prize?

Admittedly, he was not so much handsome as simply beautiful, but in the end, it resulted in the huge numbers of Valentine's Day gifts and the constant requests for dates from his female (and occasionally male) classmates.

The people he would consider were often taken with someone else. Kuwabara held a possibility, though he would be closed to the idea of a male consort, even if he and Yukina weren't together. Yuusuke had Keiko, as well. He once pondered Hiei as a lover, but the fire demon was tucked away in the Makai and would probably choke on his laughter the instant Kurama thought about it in his general vicinity. Touya, as well. Touya had seemed exceptionally interested in Kurama, but Kurama's feelings for him were strictly platonic.

A demon would almost inevitably be the best suited lover for him. Not only would that put him on familiar grounds, but it would take away some of the ease with which he would seduce a human. It was, by far, harder to seduce a demon. There were all kinds of codes and boundaries, and it was not all romance, the right words, and looking pretty. In fact, he would have a problem for the simple fact that he did not have visible scars.

There was a knock on the door, and then Shuuichi, Kurama's younger brother, stepped in, holding his schoolwork in one arm.

"Shuuichi-nii," he began slowly, "the teacher's given me something I can't figure out."

Kurama smiled a little and put his rose discreetly on the floor. It was in its full glory, all petals fully red and stretched out.

"You're too old for this, Shuuichi," the red-head sighed. His brother could easily understand all of this; he was a very bright young man. But he wasn't putting the effort into it; he was just too easily bored. Shuuichi-oto caught on quickly and could no longer feign ignorance. He was merely looking for a shortcut.

Shortly after Shuuichi left, Kurama leaned back. He had sworn off his demonic nature, to remain human forever, to be with his human family, take a wife, have children. Or perhaps a husband, a life partner, or just to settle down somewhere to become a scholar. But even to him, the lack of love (outside the family, of course) was unappreciated, and his inner demon agreed, yes, it was time for a mate.

Then a mate I shall find, he declared mentally. And then he stood up next to his desk before he remembered the discarded rose. He twirled the stem in his fingers and put it on his desk, and he climbed into bed and slept.


	2. Advice for Yuusuke

**Living in the Moment: Advice for Yuusuke**

The day after he made the decision to seek out a mate, he began to figure out details. First and foremost, where would he begin his search?

Demons, naturally, would be best to find in Demon World, but there was a much larger search range there, and he couldn't very well disappear for however long it took him to find a mate.

He couldn't start attracting too much attention in his search, either.

Human world demons, while not particularly strong, were smart enough, at least, to not get caught. Strength, while a good thing, would be unnecessary in his mate--he was strong enough to counter any foe.

To break down where he should begin, he started considering what traits he would like in his mate.

Human world demons were likely to be less wild, less bloodthirsty, and less violent, more humanoid. They would be more willing to pick a mate and stay with them. The more animalistic ones wouldn't seek out more than a one-time mate.

"Shuuichi?" called Shiori outside his door.

"Yes, Mother?" he asked, turning around in his seat to look at the door. "The door's open."

She opened the door, but did not come in. He smiled at her, to ease that look of concern off her face. She smiled at her son. "Shuuichi, dear, why is it you've closed yourself in again?" she asks, moving into the room to open the curtains. Kurama did nothing to stop her, merely watched politely. She paused as the sunlight filled the room, and she even went as far as to open the window. "It's such a lovely day outside."

Kurama knew that she was trying to hint him to go outside, pretend to be social. He didn't like being social. Humans were simple creatures. There were exceptions, but he didn't often bother with finding them. Kaito had sought him out, but even Kaito had his limits in his being interesting.

"Shuuichi, dear?"

Kurama nodded a little. "Sorry, Mother. Yes, it is a lovely day. I think I'll go to the park, or for a walk. I'll be home before too long," he declared. She smiled, and his face softened to see it. He rose to his feet and kissed her cheek, then, as he and his mother left the room, he headed downstairs.

Just at the door, Shiori stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Are you feeling alright?"

He nodded and smiled reassuringly in an attempt to appease her. "Yes, Mother. I'm quite well, I've simply been thinking."

He would have to talk it over with her later. He was of age, he was ready to move out, now, and he was still considering seeking a mate. Unfortunately, he had no idea how to do go about this. As Youko, he was more social, and he had taken a few lovers (though tales of him seducing every woman he came across were common, mostly related to the fact that he was considered an ideal mate (and picky), and women wanted others to think he had taken them. This was not true. In fact, it was mostly Kuronue that did that…) but in this body, the women seeking him out were unwanted, and the ones not seeking him out were hard to find.

Damn.

He couldn't ask his friends, either. Kuwabara and Yukina were the result of mere chance, and Yuusuke and Keiko had been children together... Hiei had, no doubt, never been in a relationship. Except Mukuro, admittedly-- there was certainly something between the pair, but that was initiated by her, rather than him...

Perhaps he should merely wait for the chance to arise?

He was not that kind of person, typically.

He was young, still. Getting older, of course. It was still hard to think that he would not stop aging, or that the aging would not slow down at any point. Growth would, but he wouldn't even be amongst the living after one hundred years in this form. As Youko, he had over one hundred times this lifetime, and he had been almost-killed in his prime…

That was another decision he had been pondering. Did he want to die in this body?

Later, later, right now, we are thinking about girls.

How did he choose his mates in his previous life?

Well, that's a silly question. Usually their attractiveness--he usually did not care. His chosen mates were merely to get his needs met, sexual or otherwise. Of course, he did hold some feelings of love toward a few--very few, considering how long he had been alive...

"Hey, Kurama!" called Yuusuke from behind him. Kurama turned to see his friend running to him.

"Hello, Yuusuke," Kurama answered lightly. "How are you? Where is Keiko?"

"Keiko's workin'. What's up? You look kind of... Um." And then Yuusuke, apparently lost for words, decided to express the look with his face, sticking his tongue out and letting his head and neck slouch forward in a show of the expression.

"I've been thinking, Yuusuke, that's all," Kurama told him, smiling blandly at the former Detective.

"Ah, okay," Yuusuke answered easily, standing back upright again. "Hey, man, tell me, what do you know about girls? I mean, you're old and really smart and stuff--"

Kurama almost laughed, but only a small smile crossed his face, and he chuckled. Yuusuke shifted on his feet, apparently uneasy at his fox-friend's reaction. Kurama merely thought it was funny that they would be thinking about the same thing. "Yuusuke, are you planning to propose to Keiko?"

"I proposed before I left, I'm just trying to make it official," Yuusuke answered. "I'm just not sure how to actually do it."

Kurama started to walk again and beckoned for Yuusuke to follow him. "Come, walk with me, we can discuss it. I'm on my way to the park."

"Oh, okay." Yuusuke started following Kurama slowly.

It was quiet for a second, then Yuusuke pressed Kurama again, "How would you propose to a girl?"

He paused and thought for a second. "I have no idea, Yuusuke. Have you considered that ancient, classic, romantic one, showing her the ring on bended knee?"

Yuusuke nodded. "Yeah, well, you see, when I was little, I used to do that a lot. Every time she'd get pissed at me, I'd propose to her like that, and I want her to know that this time's different."

"Have you not considered that she might find it a declaration of love that stretches back all those years?"

This gave Yuusuke pause. Kurama continued walking, almost ignoring his companion. He was rather intent to get somewhere surrounded by green things. The early summer air was warm, and everything plant was beautiful and offered him a rather strong source of comfort, what with the ability to fight all around without having to dig into his hair's stash.

Yuusuke ran to catch up to his friend and followed him. "You think that'd really work?"

"As long as you gave her the ring, I don't see why it wouldn't," Kurama replied brightly.

Kurama seated himself in the back of the park, in the shade of a rather large tree. He remembered, vaguely, climbing this tree when he was a child, to get away and hide from his mother. That was before he thought of her as his mother. Amazing, what love can do, he thought rather admiringly.

Yuusuke sat down next to Kurama. "Are you really sure, man?" he asked.

He paused. Considering Keiko... "No. I suppose, from you, it would seem to lack sincerity," Kurama admitted airily. "Especially after so many times, and considering that, while you hold a taste for dramatics, you are not one to take typical ideas and stick with them. Tell me, Yuusuke, if you didn't think about that one, what would you do?"

Yuusuke leaned back and thought for a second.

"Does putting the ring on her finger and asking her if she'll mind cleaning my dirty underwear and not squealing when I grab her boobs count as romantic?"

"No, Yuusuke. That first part was good, but the second and third parts need a little work. Perhaps a simple 'I love you'?"

Yuusuke nodded slowly. "That. Sounds good. Now that my dilemma's taken care of--what're you thinking so hard about? Everything's okay, right?"

"Of course."

"What are you thinking about?" Yuusuke insisted.

It was quiet for a second, while Kurama considered telling him the truth. He decided, in the end, that seeing Yuusuke's face after the admission would be worth it. So, in the simplest way he could, he explained. "Females."

It was, indeed, worth saying. Yuusuke's jaw dropped and he nearly fell off his seat. Kurama feigned an insulted look.

"Why the surprise, Yuusuke? Did you think I was completely celibate? Or that I was more interested in the same sex?" Not that that would be bad, he admitted, he was open-minded and a few of his lovers in the past had been men, though it had always been him that did the taking.

"No, no, no, man, I just. I don't know--I figured you were..."

"Above that?" Kurama asked, now, quirking an eyebrow.

"Kinda, yeah," Yuusuke admitted. "I mean. Well. I don't know. I guess, in the end, you're just a guy."

"Women need it, too, Yuusuke, it's just less of a driving force with them," Kurama informed him snidely. Yuusuke nodded thoughtfully. He hadn't considered that. Huh. "Actually, it's my mother; she's been kind of pushing me into it, because of her happiness with her love life. She thinks that I will be happier with a mate." And he paused a second. "While I don't agree, I suppose that it is time that I started considering the option, rather than becoming a chaste scholar."

Yuusuke nodded again, thinking. "Well. I don't know. I can't help you, man; I don't really know many girls. I could get Keiko to introduce one to you..."

"Actually, Yuusuke, I was hoping for a bit of depth. Keiko is intelligent, but she is also merely a girl."

"Huh?"

Kurama smiled wryly. "You see, Yuusuke, charming someone would be far too easy. I, naturally, am seeking a challenge, not someone I have to know the right answers for."

Yuusuke still looked puzzled. "Huh?"

Kurama sighed, now. "For instance; you recall when Keiko asks you a question, and then hits you when you answer honestly?"

"You mean like when I complimented her ass? Or. Oh! Yeah, I know what you mean."

"I want to avoid 'being with' someone like that."

Yuusuke nodded again. "Dude, you're gonna have to get a boyfriend for that. And be the girl for him."

Kurama laughed. "I don't think so, but I am not sure where to begin my search. I was considering a demon woman, too. They often show more depth than the typical human girl. However, I think it would be unfair to inflict my humanity on a demoness. She would lose me before the first eighty years, even if we did not lose interest in one another."

Yuusuke sat back. "Oh, yeah. Kinda reminds me. You think I'm gonna be immortal?"

"You are a demon, no?"

"Yeah, but I don't eat humans."

"Hm."

Kurama stretched back against the back of the bench, putting his arms over the wood easily, and crossing one knee over the other. He was considering, again, allowing someone to introduce him to someone. But all the people he knew that knew girls would not know what he was looking for, and would never quite understand just what it was.

"Well. I think it'll be good for you. Something that ruins your plans for you makes you think more. Good luck, man. I'm gonna go. I dunno. Put together a proposal for Keiko."

Kurama sighed and watched as Yuusuke left. It was good to have someone to talk to, whether or not he cared or listened. Oh well.


	3. That was Easy

Oi, I'm sorry--This is not a repeat chapter. You see-- Fuck it, explaining would take too long.

Read chapter two. Then three, or skip three, as you already read it, once.**  
**

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**Living in the Moment: That was Easy**

Kurama returned home later that evening. There was a second car outside. Kurama resisted the urge to roll his eyes and moved into the house. His mother was sitting on the couch in the sitting room with another woman, unsurprisingly, with brown hair and black eyes.

"Ah, here he is. Hello, Shuuichi, dear, would you please sit with us? I would like to introduce you to Yukiko. Yukiko, this is my son, Shuuichi."

"Do you dye your hair?" Yukiko asked first. "Where do you get it done? That's excellent," she added. Kurama shook his head slowly, resisting the urge to be rude to her, and he kissed his mother's cheek.

"I was merely checking in, Mother. I came to tell you that I am going to help Kuwabara with his homework, and I probably won't be home until after dinner, so don't wait for me," Kurama said quickly. "I love you, I'll see you in the morning," he added, rushing out of the door as quickly as he could without being obvious.

Damn. Damn, damn, damn, he added. He's going to have to find one soon, else his mother is going to find every "nice girl" in town to bring to his house.

He began thinking again. What would he look for that would make something more obvious, what he was seeking?

Strength would not be necessary. Nice, but not necessary. Intelligence. Perhaps something above the typical... femininity. Avoid anyone that asks me where I get my hair done, he reminded himself.

br

He was walking. He had no intention of going to Kuwabara's house, and as his mother had no phone number she could call there, it was perfectly safe to stay out until, he reasoned, eleven or so. It was still dusk, so he had a few hours to go.

He was still pondering whether he'd choose a demon or a human, and where he would find either one that he could appreciate that would appreciate him. This left him distracted, busy, even, so much so that he forgot where he was walking. It was a secure feeling, being as powerful as him, so he never had to worry about who or what he would encounter.

This led, naturally, to the unfortunate gang that found him and decided that he would be worth their time.

Someone walked smoothly up to him, right in his path and said, "Excuse me? Could you help me out?"

Kurama paused. He wondered what a punk would need help with this late in the evening (it was now, officially, "dark"), but the pause was long enough to let himself get surrounded. He began to wonder which of his plants would be most effective without being lethal. He was, after all, on probation, just as Hiei was; his was just less troublesome, as he never killed humans anyway.

Then he heard a low roar of a motorcycle approaching, then it grew louder as it got closer, then it stopped next to them. All (Kurama had counted their heads as they moved out of the shadows--humans were such amateurs, they would never be able to compare to him, it was almost a shame) seven gang members and Kurama turned to look at the figure on the bike. It was clad in a sarashi wrap (another gang sign, interesting) and a black biker jacket and, most surprisingly, a skirt.

"Didn't I tell you boys to stay the fuck off my turf?" purred the girl sweetly as she swung a heavy piece of metal onto her shoulder. "Am I gonna have to beat your asses? Or did you think that just 'cos there are more of you that I wouldn't bother defending my territory, huh?"

As she spoke, her voice went from the high, sweet purr to a low and angry cross of a growl and a yowl, Kurama noted curiously.

"Thank you for your assistance, Miss," he said lightly, "but I think I could take care of them."

"Shut up, I ain't defending you, I'm defending my territory," she answered. The seven surrounding him moved steadily around her. Kurama felt the need to help out, but he decided that human gang affairs were none of his business until there was something particularly rough going on. This, to him, meant that he was not going to help her until she was in real danger or them if they were put into real danger. (She could clearly not do this on her own, but she could have friends.)

He stepped back to watch the fight.

The seven moved in at once, brandishing fists. Two had knives. A third had brass knuckles.

One had gone for her pipe, but she swung it upward, hitting the one in front of her, and she took out the initial attacker with her elbow. The two with the knives were on opposite sides of her, but she, fluidly, sent one leg up in an almost balletic kick to knock the knife out of one's hand, and to hit the one on the other end of the circle with her pipe. Two managed to hit her, but neither landed an effective blow, one hitting her kicking thigh and the other missing entirely, but nearly knocking her over when he bowled into her. The remaining one decided to finish the job the one that struck her had failed to complete and tried to knock her down. She merely swung one leg around and bent backwards smoothly, swinging her whole torso around in a circle with the pipe in hand, striking all of them and sending them to the ground a second time. Five of the seven got up immediately and moved back to attack positions. She did not back down.

"Alright look, boys. We can keep dancing all night, but take into consideration I have only one bruise on my thigh where I have knocked out your teeth, two of your friends, and I even managed to rip out that one's earring," she said, pointing at the one directly behind her.

Kurama, deciding that it was over, started to leave. The gang members raced away, rushing past him. Kurama jammed his hands in his pockets. She would have been a considerable mate, but she was willing to stoop to triviality of "gangs" and "territory"... Damn, this was going to be hard.

Then he heard the sound of boot-clad feet running toward him. "Hey, Red, you okay?" the girl asked as she moved alongside him.

He looked at her and quirked an eyebrow. She was looking over him, though whether or not she was finding him attractive or merely checking to see if he was hurt was uncertain. Kurama's answer was, admittedly, less than polite. "I thought you weren't concerned for my well-being?"

"Oh, that was a lie," she said quickly. "They've been haunting this area for a while; I've been pretending to be from a rival gang to get them to get lost. My little sister is getting old enough that they'd do more than steal her lunch money, I gotta defend the pack, you know," she explained. "The clothes are my older sister's. Awesome jacket, though, right?"

He was lost for words. No gangs. She was a human, of course. She was a good fighter. Her intelligence was up in the air, but she was above asking him where he got his hair done, he reminded himself brightly.

"It is a nice jacket," Kurama conceded. It was rather… punkish, but it suited her well. The thick, aging leather was decorated with little locks and numerous zippers. It looked American.

"They didn't get you, though, right? Those fuckers, trying to pull knives, straight up dishonorable," she continued, checking herself over and looking at him as well.

"No, I am unharmed."

She smiled. "Good, good. Um. What's your name? I've never seen you before. Where do you go to school?"

She was interested in him, he decided. He could give her a chance, he decided after that. Do not offer false hope, but don't be too cold, either.

"My name is Shuuichi. I attended Meiou High School, but I've graduated," he answered lightly. "That was impressive fighting."

She grinned, now, apparently pleased and very proud. "You like that, huh? Took dance lessons. Taught me everything I know about fighting. Name's Imako."

"Child of the moment. Nice," Kurama said admiringly. His mother's suggestion had been a child of snow. He had never been fond of winter. It killed so much of his power at once.

"Yep!" she declared with a proud smile, picking her chin up and thrusting her wrapped chest forward. Then she moved a little ahead of Kurama so she could better look at his face. "What're you doing way out here so late?"

He looked up at the moon. It wasn't that late, was it? Nearing eight, perhaps nine... He should start heading home. So he took the next left. "I was thinking. My mother was trying to introduce me to a girl, and I decided I did not like this, so I went for a walk. I'm heading back, now."

She nodded. "Hey, man, if you don't mind, could you give me a call sometime?" she asked. She pulled a slip of paper out of her pocket and a pen from another pocket and scratched down some digits before handing the slip to Kurama. "I gotta go, my sister needs someone to yell at her to get in the damn tub," she added.

And with that, she was gone. Kurama, not paying attention to his own actions, slipped the paper into his pocket.

"That was exceptionally easy," Kurama decided. "I'll have to attempt getting mugged more often."

The walk home was less dreary than the walk there.


	4. Unsure

HEY! TO ANYONE IN THE TENNESSEE, WEST TENNESSEE, MADISON COUNTY, OR JACKSON AREA!

THERE IS A NEW ANIME CLUB CALLED THE HENDERSON/JACKSON ANIME ALLIANCE!

IT WILL BE HOSTING ITS OPEN HOUSE ON NOVEMBER SECOND, FROM SEVEN TO NINE PM.

I want to see anyone who can make it. Please?

Also--suggestions, suggestions!!

* * *

**Living in the Moment: Unsure**

The next morning, Kurama had the house to himself.

It was quiet, naturally. He woke up to that, and was immediately concerned because, normally, a house of four people was not a quiet place to be. He thought about the woman that he met last night—perhaps she had followed him home and killed his family? A trick? Perhaps she knew what he was?

Upon searching the house, he discovered a note on the fridge that explained that they had gone shopping. A sigh of relief. Well, now, with that worry gone, I can have breakfast.

So he fed himself, cleaned up, all rather mechanically, all the while he reconsidered his decision to find a female, and whether or not he should choose the woman that he met last night. It seemed awful hasty to take the first girl he met as a mate. Of course, how many other times would one meet a girl that could fight like that, especially in Human World? Even in the Demon World, there were few real female fighters. Women could fight, naturally, but they were not fighters, they made their goals surviving and killing to eat and breeding, mostly.

Of course, he needed to learn more about her. He could… Well, he had to stay within human bounds of legality. …Well, he didn't, but it would have been advisable to do so because even the cleverest of criminals slip up and get caught. He had sworn off his demonism, his powers. Then he caught sight of the rose on his desk. He stared at it and blinked slowly, trying to remember when he had done that.

Oh, yes. Right before Shuuichi-oto had brought in his homework. Damn.

So after that, he was quiet and he started thinking harder about what could be done about the girl.

He could call her. Ask her out to coffee.

That would be rather foolhardy of him.

Of course, if she wished him harm, she could have easily done so the night before. He had not been on edge, she was merely a human, but she showed no sign of wishing him harm….

Damn.

He went into the living room again and lounged on the couch, pulling his feet into the seat with him.

Her phone number was in his pants pocket upstairs. He could call her. Ask her out for coffee or tea or… something.

This is why he never sought out a female. There was nothing less predictable than a female. And it was one of the few times he had no idea what the hell he could possibly do.

"Shuuichi, dear?" called his mother, suddenly, interrupting his thoughts and startling him from the doorway. She had groceries in her arms, and was deftly kicking her shoes off and putting them into the cabinet, even with her view of her feet blocked and her balance compromised.

"Okay, you know what, I'm gonna just change my name," said Shuuichi-oto from behind his stepmother. Kurama smiled a little.

"Yes, Mother? Do you need help with the groceries?"

"No, no, not at all, thank you, son, but I was wondering if you had given anymore thought towards a girlfriend."

Kurama's blood froze in his veins. Why was she bringing this up, now? She didn't have another girl for him to meet, did he?

"I have been thinking about it," he informed her cautiously. His spine had stiffened; he was looking every bit as on edge as he was feeling. Even the topic of women frightened him. How sad. If only Hiei could see me now, how he would scoff, Kurama thought blandly.

"Well, dear, I was thinking, perhaps, how would you feel if I started introducing you to some nice girls? I know I sprang one on you yesterday, and you practically ran away, but, still, Shuuichi, dear…"

Well, that settles it. I'm calling that girl and asking her for coffee and a walk. If nothing else, she can help deter Mother. She might even be good enough a sport to do this for me on a favor, even if she is not interested in 'seeing' me.

"Actually, mother, I have met a young woman I'm interested in," he told her, then. It's not a lie, for once. "I am going out for lunch with her later," he added. He had a few hours to set that up. If she disagreed, he could still just go out and be away from the house.

"Oh? When did you meet her?"

"On my way home, last night," he explained. He did not tell her how, of course. But she would ask, and he had already come up with a lie. "I met her on my way, and I offered to walk her home, since it was dark."

Shiori bought it. Good, Kurama thought lightly, at least now I have gotten whatever attack she had in mind out of the way.

And with that, he gave his mother a polite bow. "I believe I am going to go call her and confirm our lunch together," he added. She had answered, but Kurama didn't hear that. He had already shot up the stairs as smoothly as he could (Which was very smoothly) and he went to the phone in his room, picked up the pants from last night (they were in the hamper he kept in his bedroom, as he had done his own laundry since she had been sick, that time. Mostly because of the blood and rips in the clothing.) and he dug into his pocket and drew out the slip of paper.

He reminded himself that he was going to, first, just talk to her, get to know her. Possibly ask her if she wanted to help him get his mother off his back. Relationship is out of the question unless she initiates that conversation, and even then, tell her you are willing to try, but you are shy or want to take it slow or whatever it is that humans say in response to that situation.

He dialed the numbers uneasily.

"Hello?" asked a little girl's purr of a voice.

"Oh—I would like to speak to Imako," he told the girl directly. Already, he was losing his cool. This was ridiculous.

"Hang on a second!" she mewed happily. He distinctly heard her cry through the house, "MAKO-NEE! There's a BOY on the phone for you!"

Kurama flushed a little. Ah, so, he would be among her first suitors, then? Or simply the first her family had met.

Being able to assess the situation made him feel better.

He heard the girl's voice growling before the phone was picked up, and he considered hanging up. "Don't remember any boys. They better not cheat." Then the phone was picked up. "Hello?" she asked. "Who is this?" she added.

"Do you remember the gang that you beat up last night?" asked Kurama first.

"Ooh, you're that guy? The red-headed one, right? Shuuichi? How are you?" she asked quickly. "Make it home alright?"

"Yes, thank you. I'm well. I was wondering if you would like to meet me for lunch, later this afternoon," he said quickly, now, to get it over with.

"Ah—yeah, sure," she said, evidently caught off guard by the request. "Thanks," she added. "When and where?"


	5. Awkward

**Living in the Moment: Awkward**

This is so stupid of me, so hasty, why did I do this? Kurama berated himself as he walked to the small little café in town. Koenma had worked there before, it was a familiar place. He and the others had met there after the Sensui… problem.

He had left early, because he was sure she would spot him before he spotted her in a crowd. While she did stand out, he was a little bit more of a sight, with his hair being bright red surrounded by the brown and black.

"Oh, hey, guess we get to meet somewhere besides that. Place," said a sweet voice from somewhere behind him. "Which is good 'cos I have no idea what the hell that place is."

Apparently, she had left early, too.

"Are you interested in eating there at all?" she asked him, then. "I hate eating food I didn't make myself."

Well… that would spare them the lunch bill.

"Do you have anywhere else in mind?" he asked.

"No, I like walking. You mind? We can go somewhere, if you want."

She was nervous. He could practically smell it. She was uneasy, off-set, and she was not sure what to say or do.

Well, that puts us on even ground, Kurama thought bitterly.

"Um. You remember my name, obviously. You're Shuuichi. You went to Meiou High. And now I am out of conversation. Um. What's your favorite color?" she asked, then. "Is it red or green?"

He paused. Trivial. "Why would you ask something like that?"

She grinned and shook her head like an animal. "Well, see, I always ask that when I'm not sure what to say. Doesn't mean anything, it's just something to ask."

He was slowly becoming aware of the fact that her scent was not that of a human girl's. It was human, but not normal, not like anything he'd smelled before. Little things about her behavior were off, too—her ears moved, the muscles around them twitched like a dog's or cat's, and all her sounds were vocalizations similar to a cat's, and when she walked, she moved gracefully, if not a little bouncily. It did not help that her short, wild hair was rather tan-colored with darker streaks and shadows, and her eyes were golden brown.

She was a demon, of some kind.

"Where are you from?" he asked her, then. He wanted to be discreet. Demons did not often appreciate being found out. He would be able to tell if she were lying when she answered.

"Huh? I was born in Tokyo," she answered. No lie. Hm. "I lived there for a little while, Mom moved us out here so Dad would be able to find a less stressful job, and to give him some space."

There was a pause while Kurama tried to figure out—a half demon, then?

She looked curious. "Why did you ask? Was it all--" and she gestured at her face— "this?"

He nodded. She gave him a toothy grin. "Yeah, I get that a lot," she explained. "The eyes kinda do it to people. Father's not Japanese, he came from America. A lot of people don't believe that 'cos his name is Teruo, but Americans are friggin' weird."

Kurama paused a second. Teruo was a familiar name, but he wasn't sure from what. It was a common name, too, of course…

"How old are you?" he asked then..

"Almost nineteen," she answered without hesitating. He gauged this. She looked, roughly, sixteen, of course, but being a half-demon would do that. "What about you, where'd you get your hair and eyes and how old are you?" she asked him, then. Almost jumpy, he decided, to get the topic off herself.

"I am nineteen and a half. Six months and two weeks from twenty. My father was of Irish descent," he told her. She nodded. He was wondering if she thought he was lying. (He wasn't, for once. His father had passed away early on, but the man was not Japanese. Army or something. Probably American to start out with.)

"Look good for your age," she mumbled breathily.

"Same could be said of you. You look like a middle school student, save for your height."

She blushed, and her ears shifted down a little. Kurama almost smiled. She did not do well hiding her demonism. The wild tan hair did nothing to hide it, either, sticking up in odd directions, framing her admittedly masculine face.

"So, why'd you call me?" she asked him.

He smiled a little. Honesty would be the best way to get a good reaction out of her. Also, she was so casual that he had to let go of his uptight nature just a little. It was like dealing with Yuusuke. The greatest effect on him was acting like his friend. This girl would be the same.

"Well, you see," he began, "my mother has been… for lack of a better term, hounding me, about my lack of interest in the opposite sex." He paused there, to check her reaction. She took this as a queue to talk.

"What, you gay?"

He felt his face flush, then smiled and lowered his head to his palm. No, no. Open-minded, but not… gay…. Damn, this was going to be harder than he thought.

"No, no, Imako-san, I am not gay," he explained. "I decided that I might give it a chance, and you caught my interest."

She nodded and grinned and giggled. "Sorry." And then she made an odd noise. "I. Caught your interest?"

He nodded. She nearly choked on herself. He smiled, then.

"Does that mean… you wanna… date?" she choked out.

He paused a second. "I am willing to try," he corrected her lightly. "I have honestly never really been interested."

She gave him a look. "A good lookin' one like you?"

"I said that I was not interested, not that other people were not interested."

"Ah," she said, nodding. "Why am I the lucky girl?"

Kurama paused again.

"Because you can fight," he answered. That had been what caught his interest, of course. "Because you are above the frivolities of typical human behavior," he added. "And because you are not, in fact, in a gang."

She smirked. "Why's the gang bit matter?"

"If you were willing to stoop to the immaturity of gangs this late in life, I would lose interest."

"That's a kick-ass jacket," she responded, sounding mildly resentful.

He smirked a little and smiled at her.

"That is a nice jacket," he agreed. "Do you just wear the skirt with the jacket?"

"Yeah, kinda pisses guys off when I do that," she answered, grinning a little. "Get your ass kicked by a girl who just gave you a panty shot, pisses 'em off, you know?"

He smiled a little. Yes, she was very much like Yuusuke. Perhaps he should introduce them.

"Are you interested in trying to… date?" he asked her. She nodded quickly. Then he decided to take it up a little. "In that case, would you do me the grand favor of accompanying me home and introducing yourself to my mother?"

She looked at him and grinned. "Ain't you movin' a little quick?"

Kurama smiled blandly.

"No offense, but I was hoping that, even if you would not be interested in 'seeing' me, that you would, perhaps, be a good enough sport to help me get her to leave me alone. She has been rather avid about my getting a girlfriend. It's rather frightening. She brought a girl home to me the other day."

"What was wrong with her?" Imako asked, grinning even more widely. "Did she have a harelip?"

Kurama shook his head and gestured weakly at his hair. "She asked me where I got my hair dyed."

Imako burst out laughing, rolling her head back and cackling like a madwoman. Kurama watched her. She suddenly lunged for his head, pulling him closer, and she practically stuck her nose to his scalp. He allowed this for a second, but then he became uneasy and he drew away from her.

"What are you doing?"

"Checking for roots. Contacts and bleach, you know," she hummed. "Didn't see any or smell any dye. You know, your hair's really… What the hell have you done to it? It feels kinda. Damaged. You should use more conditioner."

Kurama felt his face go weird. "Don't tell me you actually care whether or not my hair's damaged."

"Well, I don't, but I would think that you don't want it falling off or breaking off. It was a suggestion. If your hair's grown this long, I would think that you care about it. Or don't. Do you mess with fire a lot? It's singed off in places; you can spot them 'cos they're shorter than the others. That's why the back sticks out like that."

Kurama looked at her and made a face. Yes, yes, he hadn't really cut it since he met Hiei… Which would be why some of it was singed off, he thought. He considered shaving his head when Karasu started playing with it, but he hadn't even trimmed it…

Why am I thinking about my hair?

"Out of sheer curiosity, Imako, on the matter of hair—how do you get yours to do that?"

She ran her hand through it and attempted to make it lie flat. It sprang back up after her hand lifted. "Does it all on its own. Not even gel could make it do that," she told him, leaning forward to show him the mess of tan fur on top of her head. He nodded, then touched at it. True.

He wondered, again, what kind of demon she was. He considered asking. Did she even know about her strange heritage?

"What are you thinking about?" she asked him.

"I am thinking about whether or not you could possibly even be appropriate to bring home to my mother, or whether or not I should get my friend's fiancé to do it for you," Kurama answered blankly.

She cocked her head to a side, but she did not look remotely hurt. Oh, good, she was sturdy there, too, then? That would be something good in his choice….

"Why not me?" she asked.

Kurama paused. "Your language is horrendous. Your clothing choice is astounding. And you display the manners and respect for personal boundaries of a house cat." He was not wrong. Her vocabulary contained several swearwords that she obviously enjoyed employing, she was clad in a too-short, too-big tank top that fell off one shoulder and revealed much of her muscled abdomen (it gave her a rather anime-esque look.), her blue jeans obviously had been bought for someone much larger, or, more likely, for herself much too large and were preparing to fall off her hips. Not only all this, but she had just stuck her nose in his hair.

Apparently, she did not mind this evaluation, or, at the least, found it amusing. She grinned toothily again. Kurama saw a flash of fang. "That's not very nice, assuming that I don't know how to fix these things. I can be quite the lady," she told him, crossing her arms over her small-breasted chest. "I can go home and change, I have more than two outfits, you know."

He looked at her. "Do you know how to reduce your swearing? Or to speak properly? And respect what most people call 'personal space'?"

She suddenly changed a little, drawing herself to her full height (Kurama suddenly realized that she was at least five centimeters(1) taller than him, and her posture got better, and the look on her face became much less… goofy.

"I will have you know, Shuuichi-san, that I am fully capable of behaving like a normal person. I just prefer not to, as the swearing and the natural behavior is where my charm lies. I can fake it, however. I can even look absolutely in love with you, if that would help."

She dropped her posture and the look and the speech (she had even changed her voice a little) and she grinned at him again. "What do you say?"

"I say that you have the job," he said, then.

"So this is a favor, right? Not a thing as dating?"

"Yes, this is a favor," he confirmed. "As soon as possible, if you would," he added. She nodded, then turned around, taking hold of his arm gently and leading him back to her house.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm going to be a good girl and go change into something a little less punky," she explained, waving at him, gesturing, "Come on".

* * *

(1)'bout two and a half inches.((Thanks for pointing that out. Baka desu! knocks on own head

* * *


	6. Flower Ferry Woman

HEY! TO ANYONE IN THE TENNESSEE, WEST TENNESSEE, MADISON COUNTY, OR JACKSON AREA!

THERE IS A NEW ANIME CLUB CALLED THE HENDERSON/JACKSON ANIME ALLIANCE!

IT WILL BE HOSTING ITS OPEN HOUSE ON NOVEMBER SECOND, FROM SEVEN TO NINE PM.

I want to see anyone who can make it. Please?

Also-I need suggestions for this story. Someone please give me a plot. No one likes OC stories except you few, and I don't think you want to "See" Kurama fuckin' the daylights out of this girl non-stop, do you?

-R.F.

**Living in the Moment: Flower-Ferry-Woman**

He followed her through town, through a neighborhood, and they arrived at her house much sooner than he expected. It was a house with a small yard. It looked clean, and there was a large tan kitten in the front yard. Yes, then, she knew what she was. That would be her sister.

"How many sisters do you have?" he asked her.

"One younger, one older," she answered. "I think my little sister's off with a friend, today," she added, lying smoothly, and slightly louder, letting the kitten in the front yard know to remain in that shape. "Could you stay out here and wait for me? I think the house is probably a mess, I don't want you to see it."

Kurama nodded. She was probably avoiding him seeing her demonic father, or, perhaps, a demonic older sister. She could pass off the large kitten as a pet, but not a full grown… whatever cat her family was.

It was quiet again while he waited outside. He was sitting on the ground outside the door, and the kitten was watching him curiously. He waited a little while, then decided, what harm would it do?

He made little noises to attract her attention (completely ignoring the fact that he had her attention already) then held one hand out and wiggled two fingers. It worked all the time on younger kits in his clan, and most kittens he had met, this life. It proved no different with this one. The kitten stalked forward in the growing summer grass, then pounced at his hand playfully. Perhaps this was merely a pet?

Then the kitten stopped and stared up at his face and started sniffing carefully at his hand. She lost interest in his wiggling fingers very quickly. Oh, that was just for appearances.

He put his finger on her nose and pushed her back that way. She put her paws on his finger and pushed them away. He scratched behind her ears, but she swung her head away from his hand and climbed onto one of his legs, clinging carefully with her claws, and she stood on his thigh unsteadily.

Then the door opened and the cat shot inside. There were two completely normal looking women standing there, one an older version of the other, and there was a man there, who was rather more bizarre looking, with a long face with round, gold-brown eyes and very closely cut gray-tan hair that stuck up off his head and a broad, flat nose. This trait missed his daughter, Kurama noticed happily, though she did get his eyes and face. Her wide, thin mouth was his, too.

"You're what's got Imako dressing up?" asked the younger of the women. She looked, perhaps, twenty-one or two, Kurama thought. She was probably Imako's half-sister. None of her features matched the man standing next to her, and her double-lidded eyes did not belong to the older woman standing next to her.

The man was who caught Kurama's attention most, though. He looked hardly over twenty, and he had a long white scar down his tanned left arm. Kurama watched this man carefully. Kurama knew, now, what the kitten was. It was a lynx kitten. This man… He knew this man. Imako was only months younger than him, and now he knew why.

"You are Imako's mother, father, and elder sister, correct?" Kurama stated aloud. "I am the one that has asked Imako to make herself presentable, yes."

A strong elbow and arm parted the three people in front of Kurama, suddenly, and a very prettily clad young woman forced her way through.

"I told you, I'm doing him a favor!" she shouted angrily.

"At least tell us his name!" answered the older of the two women in the doorway.

"My name is Shuuichi, ma'am," Kurama told the matriarch.

Imako sighed. "Yes, yes, Shuuichi, meet my mother Kasumi, my father Teruo, and my sister Kimiko. You won't see much of Kimiko, since she doesn't actually live here. If I can help it, you won't be seeing any of the other two, either, dammit."

Teruo? Definitely one of his old followers. Huh. I thought he was stronger than B class. How did he get across the Kekkai?

"Oh, we just want to know what to call him when we wake up and he's trying to sneak out of your room," said Kasumi, leaning in the doorway and grinning like a madwoman. She may look like her father, but Imako was definitely this woman's child.

"We're leaving," Imako said, taking Kurama's hand and leading him away quickly. "To hell with you guys!" she called over her shoulder.

Kurama was rather surprised by the ease with her family, and how… strange they were. They were loud, touchy, and vulgar. Teruo had always been that way, but he was a demon, and it was uncommon even in some parts of Demon World.

br 

"How did your mother and father meet?" Kurama asked, trying to sound interested. "And is your older sister his child?"

"No, she's not, I guess that's kind of obvious, 'cos she's got weird eyes and a different mouth from both my parents. Mom and Dad met when Mom helped him after he was mugged. Fell for him, apparently. She was trying to raise a two-year-old, Dad helped her out. And knocked her up. He believes in doing the right thing."

That did sound right. Though the mugged part was rather silly. Teruo could have come to demon world after being beat up. Clearly, her family was familiar with the demons, but… "What is your family name?"

"Ifukube, but Dad doesn't believe in marriage, and therefore still goes by his first family name."

It was all leading right to the fact that her father was a demon. There was no hiding her sister or father, in any case. He had met them both. The kitten was definitely used to being humanoid, and her father was once in his band of thieves. There was no denying her heritage.

Kurama decided to turn his attention into her current choice of clothes. It was infinitely better than her former choice. This was a long black skirt with ivy patterns stitched into the cotton, and the top was a goldish brown color that matched her eyes perfectly. It had long sleeves and a hood, but the fabric appeared loosely knit, fitting the warming weather perfectly.

"Who chose those for you?"

"My sister. She always had an eye for fashion where Mom, Dad, and Akiko and I fail miserably," she said. "The long sleeves hide the scars and muscles. Makes my boobs look bigger, too, which I kinda need," she said. Kurama felt a blush rise in his face, and he scowled a little.

"Please do not speak that way in front of my mother," he said. It was an order more than a request, but she took it well.

"Do you honestly think I don't know how to behave? I've charmed my fair share of adults with more than the vulgarity. Didn't I prove it earlier?"

"I have to make sure. I am not sure what she would find acceptable, and I would like for her to continue thinking that I am much the person I display to her."

"Oh, really? What are you really that you're trying to hide?" she teased, elbowing him gently in the ribs. He flushed a little and ducked his head a little.

"I am nothing out of the ordinary; I would just like to avoid my mother's opinion and ideas about me changing. As far as she knows, I am nothing more than a model student and a model citizen. To be perfectly honest, I think that she would accept the poorly dressed, swearing, rough-and-tumble Imako as well as the one you're pretending to be. I would just prefer that she did not know that my choice in woman was so fierce."

Imako grinned, then gave him a punch to the ribs that nearly crippled him. He cried out in pain and surprise, putting his hand to the aching spot.

"Oh, sorry!" she said, suddenly. Definitely demonic strength, too. "Oh, god, are you okay?" she insisted, leaning close and trying to move his arm and shirt to look. He pulled away from her. It did not hurt as badly as it should have—he was still not a human, after all—but it still hurt. It caught him off guard more than anything.

Imako picked up on this and shook her hand. "Ow," she said quietly, flexing her hand carefully. "Jeez, you're made of steel or something, aren't you?"

"Oooooh, Kurama, who's this?" asked a high, bright, bubbly voice from his right. Imako swung her head around and moved to get a better look at the ferry girl sitting on the oar.

"What the hell is that?" Imako said suddenly, pointing at Botan, blinking her golden-brown gaze and rubbing an eye.

"Oh, dear, you can see me?"

"Yeah, I can. What's a Kurama?" Imako demanded.

"Oh, dear," Botan said, putting her hands over her mouth.

Kurama was doing his damnedest to remain calm, despite the fury building in his insides. He wanted nothing more than to lash out at the blue-haired woman, but there was no way that she could have known her transgressions were as terrible as they were, and he would not be able to find justice in his actions. Imako was currently looking at the blue-haired woman, but Botan was afraid to give the girl any answers.

"What the hell are you, come on!"

"I don't—What—K… Shuuichi?"

"Botan, this is Imako. Imako, this is Botan," Kurama said in a strained voice. "Kurama is a nickname that I do not go by anymore. My old friends insist on calling me by it." he then said to Imako. "I have not managed to break them of this habit, but it has been a trouble, recently, and I am seriously considering other measures to make them stop," he added, cutting his eyes at Botan angrily and fortifying his gaze with memories of bloodshed and fire. Botan took the hint.

"I'm very sorry, Shuuichi-kun," she mumbled, poking two fingers together nervously.

"What is she?" Imako insisted, sniffing at the blue-woman a little before clapping her hands over her nose and growling low under her breath.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm a shinigami," explained Botan quickly, holding her hand out. The kimono fell over her hand, but Imako seized it happily and shook her hand.

"How'd you know a shinigami?" asked Imako curiously, turning again to Kurama.

"A friend of mine, of whom you remind me, coincidentally, died unexpectedly, a few years ago. This woman collected his soul. She's also the right-hand woman of Koenma, Prince of Death."

Imako nodded slowly. "How do you know this shit?" she asked, then.

"I'm spiritually aware," Kurama lied. Botan was quiet, drinking in everything, but with a vapid look on her face.

"You can actually see her, though? Clearly?"

"I had to teach myself," Kurama continued lying. "What about you?"

"Same thing," she said quickly. It was obvious that she was not as practiced at lying. Teruo never was a very good liar either.

"Who are you here to collect? Not one of us, I hope. Is everyone alright?"

"Oh, yes, yes, of course, everyone's fine! There's some poor boy in the hospital near here, but he's got a few minutes left, and I saw you on the way, so I thought I'd say hello. I didn't expect the young woman to be with you!" Botan cried, eager to appease Kurama's very gentle hostility.

"Don't worry about her," Kurama said. Apparently, Botan did not realize that he was fully aware of what she was, but he was trying to keep his demonism to himself.

"Oh, okay," Botan said. "Well, I must be going—Oh! How did Yuusuke's proposal go?"

"He came running to me for help," Kurama told her. Botan opened her mouth, then, suddenly, rolled backwards on the oar, apparently deciding better than to speak again. Which was the preferable action, considering she was probably about to mention his experience with women himself, or his age, both of which would be information that he did not want Imako to have. "However, I have not seen either of them, yet, so I don't know how it went. Knowing Yuusuke, it was probably very well thought through, and then tossed out the window in favor for something that earned him a slap in the face."

Botan clapped her hands together next to her face and stared out into space and wriggled a little on her oar. "Oh, I can't believe they're finally getting together!" she cried enthusiastically.

Kurama smiled a little, then closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Go collect that soul you need to collect, Flower-Ferry-Woman," demanded Imako, suddenly. "You're late."

Botan looked around a second, then started with a loud "Oh!" and she flew off.

"'Flower-Ferry-Woman'?" he echoed. "Why were you so eager to get rid of her?" he added, looking at Imako curiously.

"Her name is a flower," she pointed out. "Peony. But I sent her off 'cos she was making you uneasy. What are you hiding that she might give away?" Imako asked, then.

Kurama stared at her, hard. She had probably smelled the small amount of fear that Botan was inducing, so that explains that, but how to… Ah, that'll get her off my scent. Literally. "And how do you know this?" he asked her, narrowing his eyes. "Obviously, you're no seer, otherwise you'd have known, and even more obviously, you are not that observant. I would say that you were reading my body language, but I have not shown anything out of the ordinary."

She looked stumped. "Um. I don't know. I guess I can kind of tell," she lied brightly, smiling despite her sudden worry. Kurama could smell the unease on her.

"Are you always this bad at lying?" Kurama asked her. He might as well call her out as a demon. She knew, and it was nothing to hide from him—she just didn't want him to know because she was worried about how he would react. "I know of demons," he told her, then. "The friend that I met Botan through is one. Sort of," Kurama explained, then. "I know you smelled that."

Imako stopped walking. "You. You know about. You can. Damn," she stammered. Then she slumped forward and laughed a little. "Am I that obvious?"

"I'm afraid so," he told her, smiling. "Though, I am curious. What kind of cat?" he asked. Best to distract her from himself and from her obvious problems with hiding her demonic nature, whether or not he knew the answers.

"Lynx. And I guess you figured out that the kitten in the front yard was my little sister, then? And that I'm only half?"

"Yes. I could tell she was accustomed to being in human shape—she used her paws like a human would, to push my hand. Yes, it is obvious your father's the demon--his eyes are golden. As are yours. Your mother, then, she's human?"

"Yeah."

"I see. My parents are human. My mother to be addressed as Hatakana-san, or –sama, if you would, please. The male is to be addressed as Hatakana-san as well. He may give you his first name, but do not call him by that unless he asks you to. My brother is Shuuichi-kun."

"Don't run me through manners, dammit, I know how to use mine, I just don't!" snapped Imako, apparently taking offense to the instructions. "Is your little brother's name Shuuichi, too?"

Kurama nodded.

She nodded back, acknowledging that she had been acknowledged, then she added, "I don't have to be told how to treat a woman—m'father taught all of us well. Though I think I learned the wrong end of it. Apparently, we are to find a guy that treats us that way, but I treat women like goddesses, too… Heh."

Imako went silent after that, apparently hiding her blushing face.

"What is it, Imako?"

"I'm remembering every joke that my family's made about me being a lesbian," she chuckled nervously. "And here I am dating a bishounen."

Kurama almost took offense to the remark. "I am, by no means, effeminate," he complained quietly.

"Oh, yeah?" she challenged, pointing at his head. "The pretty, long, bright, very-well-groomed-if-a-little-singed red hair, the gorgeous green eyes with the long dark lashes and pretty half-pale skin? Slim body, tall and lithe?" she teased. "What about muscle, you got it hidden under there?"

Kurama flushed a little. He was unaccustomed to having someone observe him outside of battle, and he did not like it, despite the fact that he was flattered that this woman would choose to do so.

He looked at the long sleeved shirt he was wearing. Despite the fact that it was quite warm out, he was still wearing a long-sleeved button up shirt, using it the exact same way she was using her long-sleeved shirt—hiding his body.

"Take it off, then, let's see it."

"No," Kurama answered, blushing furiously. His friends may be easygoing about being half-naked, but even they kept their shirts on outside of a fight. Except afterwards, he corrected himself, after said shirts had been burned, ripped, torn, or disintegrated into unwearable scraps.

"Come on!" she insisted. "What've you got to hide?"

A large number of scars, Kurama answered mentally. A physique that compares to my demon friends', though rather nothing compared to my first body. Tan lines.

"You saw most of mine," she pointed out. "'cept these," she added, pointing at her rather small breasts. Kurama blushed even more.

"We are getting closer to my house, and I would appreciate not having to tell my mother that my face is this red because you are so vulgar," Kurama whined.

She sighed, then straightened her far-too-relaxed posture and drew her back into a straight line and looked at Kurama and smiled a little.

"So, do you want me to look absolutely in love with you, or what?"

"It would help," he decided. "Also—You did not rescue me from a mugging. I walked you home because it was late at night. I don't want her worrying about me."

She looked at him, suddenly serious, no longer even a ghost of a smile over her face at all, not even in her perpetually cheerful eyes.

"You live in a web of lies, huh?" she asked quietly. "Lies and secrets, lies and secrets," she added in sing-song. "How can I trust a mate that does nothing but lie to even those he holds dearest?"

"If you understood why I lie, you would not think any lowlier of me than you did before you found out I do not tell my mother reasons to worry about me," he told her. "I tell her these lies to keep her happy and safe."

"Safe from what?"

"A premature death worrying about her, now eldest, son."

Imako smiled and shook her head. "If you realized how much she actually trusts you, you wouldn't worry about that," she said, then. He looked at her, surprised at the sudden insight.

"I would rather she did not know anything about the danger I find myself in," he said, then. "And if you would, could you give me an impression of the doe-eyes that you are talking about, so that I may see if they are convincing? I've seen lynxes. I have trouble imagining one looking absolutely in love."

"You should see Mom and Dad," she answered. Then her face morphed, and her eyes went strange, and her mouth curled into a small half-smile, and her pupils even got bigger, and…

"That is astoundingly good," Kurama said, stepping away from her, almost afraid that she was about to pounce him and start raping him.

"Yeah, I'll tone it down, I was just trying to prove a point," she said comfortingly, going back to the relaxed, easygoing, masculine woman that she was before.

"Where did you learn that?"

"The acting thing? When I was younger, I wanted to be an actress, so I practiced. Neesan gave me tips, but I eventually decided that it would be too much of a pain in the ass to be an actress."

Kurama nodded slowly. A good liar. Almost wasted. But this would be a hell of an act to pull off, he decided. If she did it well enough, he would have to reconsider this being an experiment and just all out date her.


	7. Meet the Parents

HEY! TO ANYONE IN THE TENNESSEE, WEST TENNESSEE, MADISON COUNTY, OR JACKSON AREA!

THERE IS A NEW ANIME CLUB CALLED THE HENDERSON/JACKSON ANIME ALLIANCE!

IT WILL BE HOSTING ITS OPEN HOUSE ON NOVEMBER SECOND, FROM SEVEN TO NINE PM.

I want to see anyone who can make it. Please?

Also-I need suggestions for this story. Someone please give me a plot. No one likes OC stories except you few, and I don't think you want to "See" Kurama fuckin' the daylights out of this girl non-stop, do you?

-R.F.

* * *

**Living in the Moment: Meet the Parents.**

"It's the one with the cherry tree out front," Kurama told her, pointing. The bright pink blooms were being blown loose by the wind, and as they passed under it, the petals got stuck in both heads of hair, more in Kurama's than Imako's.

"Hey, Shuuichi!" called Shuuichi. "—Hey!" he added, seeing Imako. "You got a girlfriend? I thought you were going out to lunch!"

"We did," Kurama explained. "I decided that she should meet Mother. I thought that Imako ought to have her approval before I acted hastily."

Shuuichi-oto nodded and abandoned his previous task of climbing the tree to run inside before Shuuichi-nii got inside.

"Mom, Mom!" Shuuichi-oto shouted. "Shuuichi's got a girlfriend!"

Kurama sighed, putting his shoes into the getabeko and watching as Imako did the same thing very carefully. She had already taken her role as the girlfriend—He suddenly realized that she was waiting behind him, holding his left hand in both of hers and her head was down, though her sharp brown-gold eyes were darting around discreetly. She was taking in every sight and smell, but so smoothly that no one could see it. He would have missed it himself, but she was less than less than a third of a meter from him—there was no way he could miss that.

"Shuuichi?" called Shiori.

"Yes, Mother," answered Kurama at the same time Shuuichi-oto made a soft, "Huh" sound. Imako could not stifle the smile, but she changed her manic grin into a sweet smile.

Kurama suddenly noticed that her face had grown more effeminate. Her eyes were the same, but her cheeks were rosy, and her lips were bright reddish-pink, and her posture had readjusted

"I'm sorry Shuuichi," she said, looking at Shuuichi-oto. "Shuuichi-kun," she added, talking to her first son, "come into the kitchen. Ah—is that her?"

"I suppose that Shuuichi-oto came in announcing to the world that I brought a woman over?" Kurama asked with a shy smile. He led her forward as a part of the act. She shuffled politely over and walked with him to the kitchen. Hatakana was sitting and reading the newspaper.

"Hatakana-sama," Imako said as she gave a low bow to Shiori. Then she turned to Kazuya and bowed to him as well. "Hatakana-sama," she added.

"Kazuya," said Kazuya politely, bowing back.

"Sit, sit," offered Shiori politely. Kurama pulled her chair back for his mother and Imako waited for her to sit down before she sat herself down.

"Imako-san, this is my mother and her husband," he said simply, gesturing at each in turn. All of them exchanged bows again, shallow ones, purely for manners. "Father, Mother, this is Imako-san."

"Pleasure to meet you both," Imako said with a third bow.

Shiori rose to her feet again, blushing, suddenly, probably with embarrassment. "Oh, dear, I forgot to make tea!"

Both Kurama and Imako rose to their feet at the same time, and then Imako looked at Kurama and smiled brightly and continued moving. Kurama froze a second, before he decided he should sit back down and let Imako handle it.

"Shuuichi-kun said that you met last night. Do you think you might be rushing things a bit?" asked Shiori while Imako prepared the water.

"Oh, we're not genuinely dating, yet. We've agreed to give it a try," Imako said. Even her voice had changed, Kurama noticed. Her bright red lips and blush, and the way her gold-brown eyes were lowered, he'd never guess she had beaten up seven gang members at once, last night. "He insisted that I meet you to see if I meet your approval. Honestly, I am frightened you won't find me worthy—he is a very attractive young man, I'm under the impression he could have anyone of his choosing," she gushed, letting a strange smile cross her face.

We are definitely going to have to talk about her abilities, later. This is amazing, Kurama thought. Then he heard Hatakana chuckling from behind the newspaper. Kurama suddenly realized that he was staring at Imako, staring hard, watching her every move, and not being at all sly about it. He was so worried about Imako's acting abilities that he failed to hide it well enough. Oh well. That adds to the act.

"And here Shiori thought you weren't interested," grunted Kazuya under his breath. Kurama forced the blood to rush to his face, effectively making himself blush.

"Not that I've shown her," he answered, sitting back as Imako and Shiori turned around, both holding tea trays. Imako put hers in front of the two chairs where Kurama and she were sitting, and Shiori put hers down between her and Kazuya, and each male rose to move each chair out for his chosen female.

"So, you met her, last night?" confirmed Kazuya, making conversation. Shiori and Kazuya were watching Imako, Kurama was watching his parents, and Imako had a very steady gaa-gaa gaze focused on the red-head.

Kazuya chuckled again, and all three of the others looked at him.

"I like her," Kazuya said. "She seems to be quite taken with you, Shuuichi-kun," he explained when Imako cocked her head to one side, asking him wordlessly why.

"She does," agreed Shiori. "Where do you live, Imako-san?"

Imako paused a second, then rotated in her chair a bit as she pointed straight out and then started pointing in odd directions before she settled on the north. He wondered if she'd done that on purpose—she lived almost directly to the southwest.

"A few minutes that way," she said politely. "Perhaps a block or two. Lower end of town I'm afraid."

Shiori nodded, but was not satisfied. "Where did you attend school? Where are you going to go to college?"

"Oh," she said, stumped again. She was almost overdoing it, but the intelligence never left her face—just thought. Kurama was, again, impressed. "I went to Kisho high," she started, and then paused. "I was not certain about college—I was thinking about becoming a teacher, but I'm not so certain about the idea as I used to be."

She is _good_, Kurama thought.

"Oh, well, I'm sure you'll figure it out. How old are you?" Kazuya asked, then, folding his paper and putting it down and picking up his tea. Kurama did the same to hide the smile that was beginning to sneak up on him.

"I'll be nineteen in a week and a half," she told them sweetly.

Kurama used this information to figure out when Teruo got here. He had entered the fetus of Shuuichi at the fourth month of gestation… Two months.

Perhaps he came to the human world to look for him?

Imako and Shiori were talking, Kurama realized suddenly.

"My father and my mother have been together my whole life, but my mother had a husband before my father," she was explaining. "I have a younger sister and an older half-sister."

"Oh, really? What are your sisters' names?" asked Shiori politely.

"We're all children of something. Akiko is my younger sister, child of autumn or red child, since she was born with a red caul, kinda weird, and Kimiko, child without equal. I'm the middle kid," she explained. "Big sister is almost three years older, and little sister's nine years younger."

She continued her explanations. He noticed that she was very careful about her lies. He could see that she lied very little, but what lies she told were so close to the truth that it was very easy to believe. She also left out little parts of the stories, places where she could avoid lying, and did not need to explain. Which, in a sense, made it more believable, Kurama decided distantly.

Every now and again, she would reach over to him and take his hand for a few minutes, or look at him and smile while one of his parental figures were talking. It was almost frightening, seeing her face morph into that strange, admiring, almost loving gaze.

Questions went around the table, most directed at the blond guest or her red-haired host for a long time, and the whole time, Kurama watched carefully.

But he noticed her growing disease. She was uneasy, she was almost uncertain, apparently—she was shifting in her chair, and he saw how her body language was speaking volumes of wanting to leave. She would lean back and cross her arms, or turn her body towards the door, and her eyes would flit back and forth between the clock and the window and the door, but only when she wasn't keeping up the act, when she was certain they weren't looking at her.

Upon glancing at the clock, he realized that they had been there for almost two hours.

"Ah, Imako-chan," he began, then. He pointed at the clock.

"Ah, is it time to go?" she asked with a vapid smile on her face.

"I believe that your family asked me to have you home before too late in the afternoon—did you not have a movie or something you were going to attend with them?"

She nodded blankly, then took his hand and stood up and gave another bow to his parents. "It was very nice to meet you. I hope that you approve of me."

And with that, she did what she could, but Kurama could see how she was almost running to the door. He wondered if she was, perhaps, claustrophobic, or if his family made her nervous. She pulled her shoes on (which were ratty-looking sneakers, he noticed), but she went outside and ran a little way down the street, paying him little to no mind, until she got to the end of the block. He turned around and looked at Kurama and he saw the relief on her face.

"God!" she cried, leaning onto her knees. "Gods, god, damn, I hate… I like your parents, they're real sweet, but I don't do long lies like that. Man, how do you do it?"

Kurama sighed a little.

"Are we done for the day, or do you wanna hang out?" she asked him, then. "We're going to my house either way. You can tell me while we're there."

She started walking again. "Why are we going to your house?" she asked.

"I have got to get out of these damn girl clothes. They're touching me."


	8. Day Trip

HEY! TO ANYONE IN THE TENNESSEE, WEST TENNESSEE, MADISON COUNTY, OR JACKSON AREA!

THERE IS A NEW ANIME CLUB CALLED THE HENDERSON/JACKSON ANIME ALLIANCE!

IT WILL BE HOSTING ITS OPEN HOUSE ON NOVEMBER SECOND, FROM SEVEN TO NINE PM.

I want to see anyone who can make it. Please?

Also-I need suggestions for this story. Someone please give me a plot. No one likes OC stories except you few, and I don't think you want to "See" Kurama fuckin' the daylights out of this girl non-stop, do you?

-R.F.

* * *

**Living in the Moment: Day Trip**

He was beginning to notice that, without school, his life was extremely boring. Imako brightened this considerably, but he was afraid that he would grow weary of her presence. As much as he liked her, she was not exactly the best of company.

It had been two weeks since he met her family. She'd been over to his house twice; both times wearing fitted jeans and t-shirts that he was fairly certain were boys'.

She had not met Yuusuke yet, which was one thing that he was rather determined to fix, at some point, but he did not want to disturb Yuusuke, as it was probable that he was quite busy.

"Come in, it'll take a minute for us to wake her up," said Akiko cheerfully, giggling nervously as she fled the doorway and ran to the stairs.

Kurama greeted his old teammate in the living room and sat down politely, close to the door.

"Youko Kurama-sama," said Teruo suddenly. "Why are you… seeing, I suppose, my daughter? I haven't smelled any sex on her, yet—"

Kasumi slapped Teruo's chest.

"You bastard, stay out of our daughter's business—she's nineteen, she's old enough to get a damn boyfriend. It's not time to be territorial."

Teruo shot Kasumi a look.

"Normally I'd agree. If he were a human, I wouldn't even bother talking to him. This is not. I knew him before I came to this world—I even followed him. He was an amazing strategist, a very intelligent man, and, the normal consensus agreed that he was quite beautiful. However, he normally did not enter anything without an elaborate plan. I want to know what he wants with Imako."

Kurama nodded slowly. "I understand your concern, Teruo. However, the initial 'ulterior' motive has already been taken care of—I introduced her to my mother and got her to leave me alone about my lack of a girlfriend. At this point, I genuinely enjoy her company. Although, she does invade my personal space more than appreciated. And she is very loud."

Kasumi beamed proudly. "That's my girl."

"Oh, god, what the hell are you guys saying about me?" Imako demanded from the doorway. "Nothing good, right?"

"Of course not, dear," Kasumi assured her lovingly. "We were just discussing the matter of you two getting married."

Imako and Kurama both went whiter than new pieces of rice paper.

"Well, why not? Every time you look at one another, you practically visually rape him or her!"

Kurama, who had paled, suddenly flushed. Imako went even paler.

"Yep, Shuuichi-san, let's get out of here," Imako ordered, grabbing Kurama's arm and hauling him out the door.

At this point, he got to look at Imako and what she was wearing, and he nearly paled again. Her black sports bra t-back was all that he could see on her upper torso, and her jeans were so low that he could see she wasn't wearing underwear.

"Aren't you going to wear a shirt?" he demanded.

"I have one," she said, holding it up. The red t-shirt flapped around uselessly. "I just didn't feel like letting you sit with my family for very long. I'm rude, but I'm not cruel."

Then she tugged the shirt over her head. It made all the difference in the world.

"Much better," Kurama said quietly. She shrugged.

"What's on the agenda?" she asked him, then.

"I don't really have an agenda," he explained. She nodded, and then started looking around.

"You know what? I know what we could do."

"And what would that be?" Kurama asked her politely, already ready to turn down the idea.

"I wanna climb the water tower."

Kurama opened his mouth to argue, but then stopped. Not a bad idea.

"Perhaps we should wait 'til evening?" he suggested. "When it cools down, and when we can go unseen?"

She nodded. "Alright. That will be the last part of the daytrip. What about between now and then?"

Kurama shrugged, smiling weakly. Since her birthday, last week, she had gotten much calmer. She was sweet, now, and cheerful, but she did not bounce or jump on him as much. He had not had to pull her off him, or step away from her for a while, now, actually. He was wondering if she'd noticed that and had started to back off a little.

"Shuuichi-chan?" she asked after a second. They had been walking aimlessly. "You wanna go on a walk? Like, out of the way? I know a few trails in the woods near here, sort of. Well, to be fair, I made them while I was on my way to practice hunting, but either way—You know what I mean."

Kurama thought for a second. "Sure," he replied at length.

"Cool."

She took a turn at the next street, and he let her take the lead, though he was very careful about letting her lead him. She was bad about forgetting where she was going, or where she was.

"Does something smell funny to you?" she asked him, suddenly. Then she laughed a little. "Sorry, never mind that, I forget that you don't have my kind of senses. It smells like grease and halitosis(1) and sweat.

"Hey Kurama, who's this guy?" said Yuusuke's voice suddenly.

"This is Imako," Kurama explained.

"Where'd he come from?" Yuusuke asked before she could say anything.

Then Yuusuke received a blow to the face that apparently caught him off guard, but did not hurt. Kurama swung his gaze to Imako, but she was simply holding her hand and shaking it. And then she hit him again, knocking him a step back.

"What the fuck?!" demanded Yuusuke.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you would be that demon guy Shuuichi knew. Where does the name Kurama come from, anyway? I could understand if that was your real name, and Shuuichi was a nickname, but… I don't get it."

Yuusuke was very steadily gawping at her. He hadn't realized it was a woman. Which was why she had hit him, if Kurama had to guess.

"Kurama, who the hell is this?" Yuusuke demanded. "And why shouldn't I punch her lights out?"

"I'm Imako. Sorry for hitting you so weakly the first time. People that can stand full strength don't come around often. And sorry for hitting you at all, but I hate being called a male. I'm Shuuichi's girlfriend, and could you not call him Kurama while I'm around, I get confused."

Kurama was, again, worried about his secrets being thrown by the others. So he decided to end the risk early.

"I do apologize for her, Yuusuke."

"Yeah, yeah, no problem. Wouldn't think you'd pick someone that could knock me out, but I guess we all have our kinks."

Kurama flushed again. "To be perfectly honest, I think you two would make very good friends. However, I think I will have to explain later, as I want to know—how did your proposal to Keiko go?"

"Well. You remember what you told me about how I'd do it if I didn't have the uh." He struggled for the word, then Kurama decided to fill in for him,

"Preconceived notion."

"Yeah, that, of the kneeling thing? And I was like, just put the ring on her finger and ask her if she didn't mind doin' my laundry? It was a lot like that. Only I did what you said, and I said 'I love you', and I even asked Kuwabara to help me do a speech."

Kurama was rather surprised at the thoughtfulness. "That was rather sweet of you. How well did it go?"

"Well. Kuwabara's really good with speeches, you know?" (2)

"Yes, I was aware. She liked it, then? Did she know he helped?"

"Yeah, but she said it was sweet of me to do that. But it was funny, see, 'cos I was reciting it, I had it written down in my pocket in case I forgot, and then I did forget, and I looked at the paper, but the ink smudged 'cos of the sweat, and I couldn't read it… So I just said, 'fuck it. I love you, Keiko, will you marry me?'" Yuusuke said with a big dumb grin on his face. "She said that was better than any speech 'cos it was a very Yuusuke thing to do. Which I don't get, but hey, it worked."

Imako and Kurama both laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, I can see why I remind you of this guy, I'd totally do that," agreed Imako.

Yuusuke twitched to attention again and pointed at Imako for a second with his mouth open, evidently prepared to say something, but completely forgetting what it was, or not knowing how to say it.

"You are…"

"Imako," she finished for him, staring at him cattishly with her large brown-gold eyes.

"And you're going out with…." And he pointed at Kurama.

"The one you call Kurama that I call Shuuichi," she finished again, nodding slowly.

"When did you two hook up? What kind of demon are you?" Yuusuke asked, then.

Imako scowled, then. "We hooked up a couple of weeks ago, and what the hell makes you think I'm a demon, huh?" she demanded, putting her hands on her non-existent hips.

"You're joking, right?" Yuusuke asked, then, looking non-plussed. Kurama started to laugh.

"I'm sorry Imako, but you really are wretched at hiding what you are to people who know what demons are, even if you didn't have a bizarre appearance. The demonstration of your impressive strength did not help."

She scowled, crossed her arms, then turned her body away from both of them, giving Kurama her back and Yuusuke a cold shoulder.

"Assholes," she skulked. She was playing, Kurama could tell (at this point, it was hard not to spot her little games), so he didn't mind much. Instead, he decided to address Yuusuke and, perhaps, avoid any slip-ups in the future.

"You see, Yuusuke, she tries to keep her bloodline a secret, as it becomes difficult for demons hiding amongst humans. Her appearance is very difficult to play down, and I am sure that she and I would both be happier if you kept her bloodline a secret."

"Why do you care?" Yuusuke asked, completely failing to pick up the hint. Kurama started to sweat. Imako caught on to this, he thought, because immediately afterwards, she took off after something, running and giving a cry of "hey!"

"Okay, she just chased after. I'm pretty sure it's a bird."

"She is being nice and letting me keep my secrets," Kurama explained to Yuusuke. "You see, I have not explained to her that I am a demon as well, and I have no intention of doing so. She does not need to know. I would prefer that you did not mention anything about my powers, or our—" he sighed, then— "'exciting adventures' as the Spirit Detectives."

Yuusuke nodded, then cocked his head to a side and quirked an eyebrow. "Why ya hidin' it?"

"Because I am human, now, remember?" Kurama said bleakly, pointing at his own chest. "I'll be dead before a tenth of my own lifespan is up. My goal in life is no longer simply survival, but actually something to aim for, hobbies and a wife and children, or running a successful business. I went to school for a reason. Which, I may point out, you did not do."

Yuusuke nodded blankly, not taking in a word. Imako came within her own earshot (which was surprisingly far away, considering the human blood.) and called out, "S'it safe?"

Kurama waved. He did not like shouting, but her eyes were very good, so it worked out.

Imako came back into decent range. Kurama began to wonder how three half demons could come to existence so differently. Their talents and physiologies differed, too. He had pondered this before, but only the differences between himself and Imako. Yuusuke threw a whole new question into the loop.

"So, what, are you a half-demon, too?" Imako asked Yuusuke, suddenly.

"Uh. I _guess_," Yuusuke mumbled.

"What's that mean?" Imako asked Kurama, obviously understanding that Yuusuke was not a half-demon by typical standards.

"You know of Lord Raizen, do you not?"

She shook her head. Kurama felt his face fall, and Yuusuke gave a dumb grin. "Jeez, you really were raised as a human, huh."

"Yep. The only reason they told me about the demon thing was because. Well, I was _born_ a kitten."

"Do you know what an atavism is?" Kurama insisted.

"Ummm… That's that thing where… even though neither of 'Miko's parents had a big nose, but her grandma did, so she does… thing?"

Yuusuke nearly fell down. "What the hell did she just say?" he demanded shortly after recovering.

"She said 'yes, I know what an atavism is', Yuusuke," explained Kurama patiently. "The gene appeared in him. Only it was seventeen generations behind."

"I thought it was fourteen," started Yuusuke. Kurama shrugged.

"I remembered seventeen. It hardly matters, I wasn't alive then."

Yuusuke opened his mouth, but Kurama glared at him, fit to rival Hiei. Yuusuke shut up.

"But anyway," continued Kurama. "Don't you think it's time we go? We can discuss this on our hike."

Imako looked a little displeased, then started walking again, leaving Kurama to catch up and leave Yuusuke behind.

Kurama ran to follow her after saying goodbye to Yuusuke.

"You know, it'd be a lot easier on you and introducing me to your friends if you would just tell me what you're hiding," she told him as they stepped onto a path.

"I would like to keep my secrets," he told her coldly. It was the tone he used that kept her out of his business. It usually worked, but he knew that it was only out of her courtesy that it did. The problem with her thinking him human was her "knowledge" of the fact that she could easily over-power him in a real fight. He had played with her before, but all that had been was pouncing and pinning and pushing. In a real, claws-and-fangs fight, she would definitely have the upper hand. Especially considering that he did not want to expose his true blood without absolute necessity.

"Alright. Then… How about… You and I race? I'll leave the demon power out of it, this time."

He gave her a sidelong look and smiled wryly. "You're not going to get me with that one again. I know you don't have control over using it, just whether or not you transform. We both know you can beat me in a sprint, and I can beat you in a marathon."

She sighed, then stretched and climbed into a tree, then dropped out of it when she saw that Kurama was not slowing down for her.

* * *

The hike was uneventful, and so was lunch, and so was the swimming trip they took to a public swimming pool (though Kurama did have to go home and get his swimming trunks, she had her swimsuit with her, so Kurama was half-sure she had planned that.

Currently, they were at the park up the street from the city's water tower.

He had an ice cream in one hand, and the other was shielding his eyes as he watched her sucking the ice cream out of the bottom of the cone shamelessly, silhouetted against the dusk light in just the right way to make the scene as lewd as possible.

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were getting ideas," she told him after she got the ice cream to a point at which it would not longer drip.

"Perhaps you have not noticed the odd looks you are getting?" he suggested. "Or that you have been making absolutely perverted sucking noises over the last few minutes? I believe that woman over there shielded her son's eyes and told her daughter that if she ever caught her doing that, the girl would be disowned."

Instead of the desired effect, he got a better one. Imako grinned the lynx grin and gave him a "V" sign with her fingers.

"Quota met at one blow! Hell yes."

She continued sucking the bottom of her ice cream cone, reclining her head back over the back of the bench to do so.

"Dude, your girlfriend is a weirdo," Kuwabara told Kurama. "What're you doing out so late?"

"Late? Shit, I got goals for the night, big guy. You another one of Shuuichi's friends? You a human?"

Kuwabara looked kind of funny, then turned to Kurama. "Yuusuke told me," he said simply. "Yeah, I'm a human. Uh. What's your name?"

"Who's that?" Imako interrupted, looking at Yukina, who was leaning on Kuwabara's arm. "You're a full demon," she said, now, sitting up and holding her ice cream out so that the dripping would not land on anything but the dirt under her feet. She then put her knees in the bench and sat like that, leaned against the back and stared at Yukina. "You're a K. K. One of those chicks that cries those rocks that people pay lots of money for."

Yukina scowled a little, as much as her sweet face could scowl. She looked, strangely, like her twin for a second. "I am a Koorime. I've been banished from my island, though," Yukina answered as a chill entered the air. "And what I cry is not anyone's business."

Kuwabara had evidently never seen her go so cold. Kurama never had, either. It rather surprised him.

"Forgive her, Yukina—she did not know the pain you suffered at the hands of greed," Kurama assured her.

"Huh?" Imako asked.

"A human captured her and tortured her to get those tears," explained Kurama. Imako's face changed suddenly, and she gave Yukina a bow.

"I'm sorry! I'm a real dumbass sometimes, hardly notice half the shit I say, I'm really sorry!" she cried, then.

Yukina brightened considerably.

"What's wrong?" Kurama asked Yukina. "I've never known you to be so short tempered."

Yukina blinked a little, then turned her head to Kuwabara and leaned on him.

"Depressed?" Imako asked. "You smell depressed. And I smell death."

"Genkai," breathed Kuwabara.

Imako decided that her attention span had failed her, and this was not any of her concern, but the look on the Koorime girl's face was just a little too icy, so she got up and went to Yukina and hugged her around the shoulders. Kurama almost dared to be amused at the sight. Imako was nearly as tall as Kuwabara ((In fact—her hair was over his head)) due to the direct demon genes, and that placed Yukina at roughly eye-level with her ribs.

Yukina looked rather surprised, and she turned to the friendly young woman. Imako's hold was loose enough that she was not cutting off any of Yukina's movement, and when they all turned to her (Both the males were completely confused and concerned as to why Imako had made the sudden move.), they could see that Imako's face was soft and sweet, just as Yukina's normally was.

"Don't be so cold, Snow-Bird," she said sweetly, petting Yukina's shoulder. "Forgive me, I'm an ass. Please, don't be so cold, I can already tell that's not you. It doesn't suit you."

Imako then let go and moved away, then wandered off in an almost Botan-esque fashion, swinging her arms and legs rather widely as she made her way innocently to a very large garden of flowers and goes to play in them. Kurama turns to Kuwabara and Yukina.

"I have no idea what she meant by 'snow-bird', but she is right. The scowl makes you look almost like Hiei," Kurama chuckled. He had been deliberately dropping hints, praying that she would pick up on them, but if she had, she had given him no sign of it.

"I'm sorry. It's. I just." And then she started to cry, but Kuwabara rushed to her side, this time, putting his large hands on her shoulder and putting his face close to hers, giving her a soft kiss on the cheek and catching her tear gems carefully in his palms and putting them into his pocket. Kurama heard them clicking against one another. There were more in there. She'd probably cried enough to make a necklace.

At least Hiei isn't here to kill Kuwabara, Kurama resolved. Kurama bowed to Yukina, low, almost bending himself at a ninety degree angle.

"I'm sorry, Yukina-chan. I hope that the pain will be alleviated soon."

Yukina nodded, and Kuwabara led her to the seat Kurama had been taking up until he stood to bow. Kurama then waved his farewell to his friends, then went to his… girlfriend, who was still squatting next to the flowers, no longer moving at all, simply watching them, or staring at them while lost in thought. Unfamiliar territory—no wonder she was lost, Kurama joked. Not that she wasn't intelligent—she just didn't think as much as she could have afforded to.

"That was very sweet, Mako-chan," Kurama told her as he moved closer. (He had incorporated her family's nicknames into his lingo. It was almost cute, really. There was Miko-chan, Mako-chan, and Kiko-chan, eliminating the use of the first syllables of their names.)

"Something was really bothering her," said Mako, wrinkling her nose. "I could smell something really wrong with her."

"She has been grieving over a dying woman. I wouldn't doubt that she is quite depressed."

"I don't like the way she got all cold like that," Mako said, then.

Kurama was rather surprised at how upset Imako had gotten at this little upset, and at how hurt she was that a girl she had never met had acted as she had.

"Do you want to climb the tower, now?" he asked her. "It's only a short distance from here, and I think it's dark enough to go."

"You got a camera?" she asked him, smiling.

"In this light, I doubt one would be useful."

"Alright," she said, then, looking mildly defeated, but she said nothing else, and she took his hand and started leading him down the road.

* * *

(1)Halitosis means "bad breath".

(2)Yes, I know, I know, but Funimation sucks and changed shit around. If you directly translate a lot of what Kuwabara says, it's not as stupid as you think. Plus, I give the boy his props; he's not nearly the dunce he seems to be.


	9. Hell of a View

HEY! TO ANYONE IN THE TENNESSEE, WEST TENNESSEE, MADISON COUNTY, OR JACKSON AREA!

THERE IS A NEW ANIME CLUB CALLED THE HENDERSON/JACKSON ANIME ALLIANCE!

IT WILL BE HOSTING ITS OPEN HOUSE ON NOVEMBER SECOND, FROM SEVEN TO NINE PM.

I want to see anyone who can make it. Please?

_**Now—Okay, look, girls (and possibly guys, but I doubt it), I NEED A PLOT. You've got TWO chapters left before I stop posting 'cos I ran out of fuckin' story!**_

_**Thank you, OCGoddess and Edwart-Twilighted for trying, and if you're embarrassed, you're welcome to just message me (Don't be—come on, look at some of the shit on this site…), but I'm gonna need details. Though I am trying to stay away from the cliché, I take great pride in doing that.**_

_**Plus—who the hell COULD kidnap Imako?**_

-R.F.

**Living in the Moment: Hell of a View**

Kurama and Imako were studying the water tower. It was away from the road, and the dark would hide them sufficiently, but the matter of climbing it would not be so simple.

The tower was the typical bulb-shape on top of a huge shaft in the center, supported by the five legs, and the cross-beams necessary around the legs. Every twenty feet or so, there was a large horizontal I-beam across, spanning the distance between the two legs, and between these, attaching each leg together diagonally, in large "x"s, there were two bars or poles, going from the end of one I-beam, to the other side of the I-beam on the next level.

The ladder went up one leg, but the bottom of the ladder was just a little below the first I-beam, putting it at, roughly, twenty feet.

The question was how they were going to get to the ladder.

"Alright, Shuuichi-chan. What do you suggest?"

"I want to hear your idea, first."

"Well, see, I know these things are whitewashed, so the stuff tends to come off easily. Therefore, I think you would like to avoid getting the shit all over you. So I'm trying to figure out a clean way to do this."

"Mako-chan, please take into consideration that we are going to be climbing this, and sitting on the top, probably for a while. We are going to get the whitewash on our clothes, no matter how we climb up."

She grinned. "Ah, well then. I know you're in shape, so it'll be fairly easy—We shimmy up the x-bar-pole-things, until we get to the first horizontal thingie and then swing to the ladder."

He agreed. That would be accommodating to the idea that he was human. He was sure both of them would be able to jump to the grating at the bottom of the ladder, but he could not let her know he was a demon. She would probably be kinder to him and go up the same way.

"Which one first?" she asked, then. "And would you like a boost over the fence?"

The fence was only about eight feet tall and had a foot of barbed wire over the top. The front gate had a chain on it that would be good to stand on, and a post in between the two swinging doors… He could do it.

"No thank you."

She took a flying leap over it, then, putting her hands on the center post and using that as a boost and landing clumsily on the gravel below the gate.

Kurama smiled, then climbed up gracefully and supported his weight on the center bar, palms holding him, and he rotated his body, crossing his arms carefully as he circled, and he lifted each leg in turn very carefully over the barbed wire, then he pushed back and let go, dropping neatly to the ground.

"Gymnast or something?" she asked.

"It comes naturally," Kurama explained. It wasn't a lie, he decided. It did come naturally, this life, though his last one struggled to learn it. (By demon standards, anyway, he was nearly fifty by the time he had mastered a simple somersault.)

"Yeah, okay. You start on that end; I'll start on this one. First one to the middle thing, go on up. Second one might need a rest. Or will wind up waiting."

Kurama moved to the leg with the ladder coming off it, then took hold of the crosswire and put a foot on it. It would be child's play to walk up this thing, but he couldn't with Imako there.

"Stop holding back. Like I haven't figured it out," she yowled. "You're some kind of demon or superhuman yourself."

Kurama looked at her, then scowled.

"Well, that's what you're hiding, isn't it?"

"Have you been listening?"

"No. If I had been listening, I could tell which one you were. But that orange-headed guy with the red-eyed girl that was all psycho-y was a super human—I'm not sure how I know, but you're close with him, so I can kinda guess."

Kurama sighed, then balanced himself carefully on the one bar, putting one foot down, then following with the other. They were slightly unsteady, so he had to keep his knees bent. At the crossing, it was even harder. He nearly fell down, then, and he caught himself on the wire and had to pull himself up, hooking his knees and pulling himself up with his hands.

The demon girl had taken a leap from the ground to the mid-way point to the crossing of the bars, then up to the next level up, and she leapt to the I-beam and sat down. Kurama was stuck walking. Even his demonic strength wouldn't allow him to do that. He was a fox, not a cat.

She crossed over to the I-beam he would be on and walked out to let him climb onto it. He was rather surprised at how hard it was to have climbed up that. He nearly fell twice, and he had to pull himself up onto the I-beam and nearly fell in doing so. Mako-chan caught his wrist and stood him up.

"Almost," she said with a bright smile. "You can make it to the ladder. You wanna catch your breath?"

Kurama's pride had been wounded by the fact that he was already losing himself this much, and he did not welcome her kindness, nor did he welcome the prospect of catching his breath. He decided that there would be no harm in letting himself prove himself to her and himself again and refusing the break. He got to his feet and practically jumped to the ladder and started pulling himself up. He did not rush up it, but only because falling from this distance would prove a bad thing, and he did not want to hit Mako-chan on the way down. (Have I already gotten that taken with her, that I'm calling her by that stupid nickname? She is far from cute…)

She followed after him. Every now and again, he could feel her hands or fingertips catch the backs of his shoes.

"This is taking a long time," she complained from below him after a while. "How far are we from the top?"

"When you feel the wind, we will be twenty feet from the top," he told her, looking over his shoulder at her. She was beautiful, suddenly. He smiled.

"Keep going," she said, gesturing with a slight pushing motion with her palm. "Go on, I wanna go!"

Kurama turned his attention back to the ladder, and he continued climbing up.

* * *

The railing around the belt of the tower was the final step, or so he thought. As he waited there for the lynx woman, and he didn't have to wait long, he saw the ladder leading to the _very_ top of the tower, the top of the water tank itself.

"Awesome," she said as she pulled herself over, immediately running to the ladder. Kurama followed her, and she moved cautiously to the center, where the bulbous tank was flattest.

The sun had not yet fallen (the climb had fixed that), and the sky was red where the sun was falling, then orange, then pink, fading into purple, fading into the blue. Imako was staring out over the trees and the road and the city, which was slowly lighting up, and he heard both of them say, at the same time, "Amazing."

The wind was unabated by anything, trees, cliffs, or otherwise, Kurama noticed. His hair was flying wildly, and the smell of the sea, no matter how far it was from their current location, was fresh on it. This high up, smells from all around washed over him—human, the scent of rain, the scent of the ocean, the scent of trees, of blood, of plant life, of the very heat that had been plaguing the area, making so many creatures uncomfortable…

"Oh, god, I should have done this years ago," she whispered, sitting down heavily. "This is absolutely amazing… And…" There was a creak in her voice. Kurama turned to look at her.

Tears were in her eyes.

"Is something the matter?" Kurama asked her, having his attention pulled to her rather forcefully.

"I. I don't know. It's so beautiful. But, it's like it hurts!" she cried, putting her hand to her chest. "I don't know what the hell it is, it's just…"

Kurama suddenly knew. He felt it, too. He couldn't tell her, but he knew exactly what it was.

A part of her, though it had never been to its original home, was homesick, just as he was. Parts of them wanted to return to Demon World.

"I never want to leave here," she said, then. "It feels so good up here. I can smell everything. I can see everything. It's like it's something better!"

She stood up, now, and giggled, and sat back down.

"You know, it's easy to forget the shittiness of the world when you have this angle of it, where everything's so beautiful," she said, now, looking up at Kurama.

Kurama was sitting there, too, staring out at everything, bigger-eyed than normal, and, for some reason, happy and torn. He wanted to go home. He also wanted to be next to the woman that got him to do this, and share it with her. He leaned over, rocking onto his side and supporting himself with one hand, and he touched at her wrist, picking it up off the whitewashed surface it lay on, and he took her hand and guided her back over to him. She looked at him and smiled pleasantly, then crawled over to his side, and sat next to him. She scooted a little farther down than him, and leaned farther back so that he was "taller" than her, and she rested her head on his shoulder and she stared out at the sunset.

"It's a hell of a view," he heard himself whisper.

"Mm," she agreed quietly.

They turned to one another, both surprised by the unexpected switch in personas, her speechlessness and his almost-could-pretend-to-be vulgarity. They looked at each other, just as the sun finished going down, leaving a pinkish purple light over them. Her skin was golden as her hair, and her eyes were shining in the dark. His green eyes shone, and his red hair was aflame on his head, and both of them were absolutely taken with the other one at that moment.

She made the first move. She moved slowly toward him, nearing her face to his, and her lips shifted a little, and she paused, just in front of his face, almost as if she weren't sure she had permission. He gave her consent by turning his head at just the right angle to brush her nose with his, and he kissed her.

He let her have dominance of the kiss. He was not very good at kissing. He had kissed, but it just was not a talent of his. (Not that he wasn't good at it, it was just more work than he liked. He had many other talents that he reserved his mouth for.) He felt her warm, soft lips pulling at his, and how they both moved closer. He, despite letting her have dominance, moved first, rolling forward, pushing against her, and moving her onto her back, leaning over her on all fours. He could still feel her sucking on his lips, but her tongue then began to lap at his lips, and he parted them to allow her entrance. She licked at his lips for a second more, before pushing her tongue farther in, gentle, but still letting him know her goal. Her tongue brushed his, then, and she curled her tongue under his, brushing the vein there, and he was rather surprised at how strongly his body reacted to that.

After she decided she'd had enough and needed to breathe, she lay back against the white metal surface under her, and she smiled.

"That was my first kiss," she told him.

"Mine, too," he told her, honestly. In that body, it had been. It was a very good first kiss. "You're good," he told her, then.

"Yeah, you'd be amazed at what you learn from porn books," she told him, smiling at him and leaning up to brush her cheek against his. She paused on her way up, putting her face into his hair and breathing into his ear before moving her head down and into the crook of his neck and shoulder, and she nipped there lovingly before kissing it and sucking on it. His arms went weak. This body was much more sensitive, he noticed suddenly. What a way to find this out, his mind added absently as her hands crawled up his back, fingers of one hand ghosting up his spine while her palm went up the side of his back and went under his shirt, lifting it, going fingernails-first up his side. He nearly shivered, and he lowered himself on his arms over her, pressing their chests together as he leaned against his elbows, being forced to put his face next to hers, letting her have better access to his neck.

"Oh, god, oh, god," he whispered, overwhelmed by the sudden contact of her leg with a very sensitive part of his body. This body had very little tolerance for what this cat was doing, and he was growing more and more aroused. He ripped himself away from her, standing up and moving away.

She, despite the fact that he had just thrown himself away from her like she were on fire and he was melting, looked amused, if not downright delighted.

"Am I that good?" she asked, grinning and giggling. "Wanna go back to my place?"

Kurama stiffened (in more way than one). That sounded _so_ good, but it was _such_ a bad idea.

"We're both adults, dear. And as far as I can tell, neither of us should have gone this long without real sex, should we have? We can just pet until… You know," she mumbled, rising to her feet and padding over to him. He was silent, and he watched her as she straddled his legs and wrapped her hands slowly around him, one over his shoulder and tracing down his chest, over his thin shirt, and the other going over his hip, sliding down between his legs.

"For someone who is completely inexperienced, you seem to know exactly what you want and how to get it," Kurama said weakly. Even his voice was failing him.

She smirked. Now she looked hurt.

"Am I ugly or something?" she asked. "Are you scared? Do you just really not want to do this? I won't hurt you, I'm still only half demon, and I'm the female anyway, my instincts to breed are just as strong, but I don't climb on top because my nature commands it. And you're not a male cat, so it won't hurt like normal cats."

Kurama let himself breathe, and then he turned back to her and kissed her. He was too aroused to let this go unattended, and he owed her at least as much pleasure as she had given him, so far…. And going to her house would take far too long.

She kissed him again. "Do you forgive me? I'm sorry."

"We're not done," he told her. His voice was still husky with the lust, but he merely led her to the surface under their feet and moved closer to her, kissing her again, crawling over her. "I believe I owe you at least a little before we get down to business."

"I could finish you, first," she offered. "Take turns."

He shook his head, then lowered his face to hers and kissed her again, pressing their lips so hard together that he hurt himself and her. His hands began an enthusiastic search for sensitive spots over her body. Being as old as he was, he had been familiar with a female body for a long time, but she was as hard to read as Hiei was. (Not that he had had sex with Hiei, but she showed as little feeling and emotion and pleasure that he was pressed for a better comparison.)

He finally figured out that what had been moans and muscle control loss from him were simple shifts for her. Where he had nearly fallen down, she would lift her arm to allow him better access to her side, or move her leg to give him more room to work with. He kept his hand away from between her legs, challenging himself to bring her as close to orgasm as she had him without touching that special spot, or either of her breasts. His fingertips traced the line where her low pants hung, right over her pubic area (they had gotten so low that he could feel the curls of undoubtedly tanned fur under his fingers, though he had figured out that she was, indeed, wearing panties), and she arched her lower back into his hand, giving herself more of the touch. Kurama pulled his hand back and leaned closer over her, putting his mouth to the center of her chest, still not touching either breast, and he trailed his tongue up and down over the area.

"God, you're a tease," she whispered. "You're cheating. Let me—"

She lifted a hand and went for the small space between them, going down toward where their hips were almost meeting. Whether she was reaching for him or herself, he did not want it, so he grabbed her wrist and slammed it against the metal, making it ring and vibrate under them. The vibrations rung up his knees and through his body, and they felt good, but she was lying on her back on it, and her whole body arched up.

"Aah, goddamn," she moaned. "I could feel that all up through me!"

He kicked the tower and she gave another little moan. His hands squeezed her sides, and she whimpered.

"We're gonna go at the same time, okay?" she said, using her strength to overpower his grip on her wrist. He nodded, still pressed to her chest, hands going down her thigh, now, having undone her pants and moved them down. She reached down, straight for his crotch, and he kissed her lips again as she started massaging his member sweetly with her palm, doing something to his balls with her fingers that was so close to making him come that he nearly stopped moving.

His efforts redoubled, and they worked against one another. He had stopped avoiding her lower mouth and had taken hers the way she had his, outside her underwear, using his fingers to work the fleshy mound. He could feel how slick it had become through the panties, and even he—

"Aah," he groaned as orgasm overcame him. She made no sound, except for a deep gasp and a choking breath for a second before she started panting.

They lay there for a while, both milking the orgasms for all they were worth, until, finally Kurama and Imako both started to pant, and he rolled onto his back smoothly.

"And we have christened this water tower," said Mako-chan breathlessly.

"We have," agreed Kurama.


	10. Headed Back

Hello. Sorry for the delay, but my trial for Microsoft office ran dead, and it won't even let me copy the file, so I've got to type it all over again. Dammit.

I have a plot, now. Thank you, those of you that tried.

**-R.F. **

* * *

**Living in the Moment: Headed Back**

Kurama was trying to figure out what to do about the uncomfortable squishy feeling in his shorts, while Imako was apparently simply quite pleased with the events that had just taken place, although he did notice that she kept her legs a little father apart than normal, and she kept at least one knee up when she was sitting down.

After a while, though, she stood up and began to move as if she had a purpose, rather than her meaningless pacing. It was officially dark, now, but Kurama could still see her clearly. She looked over at him and grinned as she unzipped the enormous pair of jeans. Kurama watched, not sure what she was doing (did she want to do it again?) but then she stepped out of the huge pants and turned her back to him and started to remove her panties.

"What are you doing?!" Kurama cried, caught between trying to shield his eyes and trying to get a better look at the muscled legs and firm rump that she was probably intentionally displaying.

"I'm not walking around in these after I messed them up. I thought I'd leave them as a present for the next people that come up here." Then she laughed. "Haha, 'come'."

She moved to the cable that stretched from the top to the bottom and tied her panties to that with some of the frayed edges on her jeans. Then she looked at Kurama with her wide golden eyes and a sweet look on her face.

"You wanna, too? You actually spurt stuff."

Kurama's face burned as he blushed, but he _was_ uncomfortable. So he stood and turned his back to her and began to remove his pants and shorts.

"Like I care," she giggled, rolling her eyes. "I could feel the whole damn thing. Which, by the way, I am inclined to believe is rather impressively sized. My whole hand's almost twenty-three centimeters (1) and you're almost all that."

"I do care, even if you don't," Kurama told her rather shortly.

She giggled and he felt the water tank vibrate as she started to move, probably turning around, and he pulled his jeans up quickly. This was insanely vulgar, disgusting, and immature, but a part of him (the human, almost twenty-year-old part) thought that this was amazing fun.

She helped him tie the white boxers to the cable next to her blue-and-black-polka-dotted panties. Then they started to make their ways down the ladder. Kurama was below her, this time. He had quite a vies of her rump and could almost see up her pants legs on occasion when he looked up.

* * *

While they were walking, Kurama felt an intense disease. You see, he was not used to the feeling of the rough fabric of the insides of his jeans rubbing against that very sensitive piece of him. He had been trying to walk so that it didn't bother him, and he thought he was being very good at being discreet, but Imako seemed to notice. Or smell it, more likely. 

"You're not used to going commando, huh?" she asked him after a little while.

"How'd you guess?" he asked, trying to fight the blushing.

"You're trying to readjust yourself without your hands. Which makes it even worse than if you did," she said with a smile. "You want me to just move in front of you so that you can just take care of it real quick?"

The blush faded quickly when the blood drained from his face. "Imako, we are in public. No."

"It's almost curfew," she reminded him. "No one's out. Plus, who cares if a guy shifts himself a little bit when his little soldier's outta line?"

Kurama looked to see if she was serious. It looked it. Damn, this woman was insane. "It has only been a year since I left school. Many of the underclassmen still recognize me and still know and respect me. I have no intention of letting them, or anyone else, see me--what was it you said? 'Readjust myself'."

"Shuuichi. Dear. Lover. Beloved. Do you honestly think that they are going to see you on a deserted street? Also--do you doubt me that much? I'm good at what I do. If nothing else, I could flash them to distract them."

Kurama sighed and continued walking for a second, before his discomfort finally won him over. He turned his back to the street, and Imako, without saying a word, moved to the side of him that traffic was more likely to come from with her back to him and stood guard.

Afterwards, he was, indeed, more comfortable, though his face was still burning because of the flush. He'd never understood the vulgarities of young humans (and demons), but that was because the most he had been exposed to was Hiei and Yuusuke and his classmates, in the last few decades. Yuusuke was limited to swearing and being a juvenile delinquent and Hiei had simply been a thief. Kurama hadn't really taken part in the scene, and the occasions where he had decided to be a human teenager had not been fun. (Robbing Spirit World was more fun than he cared to admit, but that was another story.) This girl was showing him a whole new branch of being a teenager. To be honest, it was fun doing things that hadn't been planned, and having no idea what was about to happen or what he would do when it did. Unlike in Demon World, it was not vital for life to do this. It was okay that at the beginning of the day, he didn't know that he would be having sex (almost) on top of a water tower. He also didn't know he was going to be walking home without underwear, today. If he had, he would have picked out a pair he wouldn't be so sorry to lose.

Imako leaned to look at him. "You wanna come back to my place before you go home?" she asked him. The question seemed natural, but he was rather inclined to go home.

"I'd rather not," he told her.

"Are you sure? You're still covered in whitewash," she told him. "You could use a shower and borrow a pair of Dadda's shorts 'til we washed your clothes."

Very true. "Alright, fine," Kurama sighed, moving across the street to the sidewalk.

"Cool."

* * *

As they neared her house, Kurama became aware of how late it was. He had a watch, but the time did not register into his mind until he saw how empty rhe streets were. There were no people out. He heard the ones in their houses, and there were still only a few. 

Except for the few lurking in the shadows.

"You said you could fight, right?" Imako asked, obviously having heard or sighted them as well.

"Yes," Kurama agreed.

"I want to see. They're going to jump us, 'cos I don't have my bike and pipe and skirt, so they probably don't know it's me, or that I'm still dangerous."

Kurama looked at her, trying to get her to face him so that he could get through to her. "I don't want to fight," he told her. "I am not a very good fighter. I kill, I do not wound."

"Damn," Imako swore quietly. "Fine, fine, I'll do it. Just stay out of my way."

Kurama heard the tones and took them as a challenge. All things considered, Kurama could fight them. They're only human, and I am trained in martial arts.

"I've changed my mind," he told her. She smiled. Then she had done it on purpose.

"You're gonna fight?"

"Yes."

Imako grinned and let him take the lead in the walk towards them.

He began to think about the last time he fought. Shigure. Before that, his last _real_ fight was Karasu. Both times were very decisive times for him. The fight with Karasu was worst, really, but that was because Karasu wanted to blow his arms and legs off, watch him bleed to death, then rape his corpse.

He could fight. Genuinely fight. No worries.

Why am I getting worried? They're _humans._

As he moved closer, one moved into his path, inducing a slower pace, and then the others surrounded him.

Imako moved back so that she was out of the circle. A couple started after her, but Kurama pulled on his old voice and called to them. "She won't go far. She's just getting out of the way. You are fighting me." Kurama loved that tone. The danger, the power in it, the fear it instilled...

He looked around to take who he was fighting into account. Two sets of knuckles and four knives. Twelve opponents. One female. He wondered if Imako would think any less of him if he hurt the girl. So he asked, "Mako-chan? Would you be displeased with me if I was not a gentleman to the lady among them?"

Mako laughed, a high-pitched cackle. It didn't sound like her normal laugh. She was excited by the energy around her. The ones surrounding him tensed and shifted. He had startled them with how easygoing he was, surrounded by these people. "Yeah, fight her like a man. Chicks hate it when men go easy on 'em. In fact--watch out for her especially. She's got shit to prove, she'll fight twice as hard."

The girl laughed, then. Not Imako, but the punk. "Good girlfriend. Let's see if she'll keep you after we fix that pretty face of yours."

But after that, the fight had begun. No one was moving, yet, but they were all on edge. Kurama was waiting on one of the twelve to move. He was certain that once one moved, all of them would move. But the others would hesitate. The first one would keep going. He woud leap over their head and step on them. The next charger would take him out. Then he'd have to wait and see. He would have to keep the knives at bay, but he was fast enough to keep those out. He was trying to figure out how go get rid of them all at once, but nothing came to mind.

I am a fool, he suddenly decided. I'm taking on a fight one to twelve after not fighting for four years and without weapons or powers.

The man directly behind him lunged. No one else seemed to want to try it. Kurama leapt into the air, like he planned, and landed on he man's shoulders. Someone else had already begun to lunge, and ran into Kurama's first attacker. They knocked each other off balance, and the circle was broken as their friends tried to catch them.

Others were upset that he had taken out four people (the other two were in the circle and had been plowed into) within a few seconds, and started to charge with less confidence and more enthusiasm and less tact. He had already won.

He swung a (if he may say so himself) graceful kick up to the next one's chin, knocking him backwards, and he learned down and backwards to head off the one on the other end. He put his hands on teh ground and did something of a back handspring, planting his feet into one's chest and thrusting him backwards and onto his back. Kurama stood on his chest long enough to get the knife from his hand, and he threw it into the street. Imako went to get it, he thought.

Two more had closed in on him in his moment of distraction. One was wielding one of the knuckle sets. He took that one by the wrist and the other by the throat and gave a powerful push to knock them back and buy him time.

He wasn't used to fighting this many people at once, let alone bare-handed, but an old part of him refused to call out for Imako's help.

Finally, a blow landed on his cheek. The bare knuckles grazed his cheekbone and slid off his jaw, and his attacker stepped back with an "owww!"

Kurama thrust himself forward, meeting the one that would be rushing him from the front-right and hit the man's face with his elbow. The others that were rushing him (from the left, but they were slow, as they had already been hit), met his foot when he jumped and spun a kick into all their heads, sending one staggering and one to the ground.

"Go Shuuichi!" cried Imako enthusiastically.

He was not Shuuichi, at the moment, he reasoned mentally. He was building the next part of his plan, which, so far, was meeting the next two to rush him with a front handspring and kick them in the chests, knock the air out of them and knock them away from him. After that, he expected three to six more people to rush him, but one would be in better shape, so he could take out the others using him as a projectile or by just knocking them all out with simple blows to the chest or throat.

That went smoothly. Twice, he encountered the girl--she had the breath knocked out of her, but had kept fighting. Admirable.

But after that, there were only five left that had any fight left in them, and they were tired. Kurama took them out with his knees and elbows. They fled.

"That was awesome, Shuuichi-kun," Imako giggled cheerfully. "You do gymnastics where I do ballet."

"I do not do gymnastics," Kurama answered stiffly. Acrobatics, but not gymnastics. There was a whole class of difference.

"Either way," she sighed. "You need a shower, now." Then she paused and sniffed at him. "Damn, man, what _is_ that scent you carry around with you? For a while, I thought that was just something that you picked up somewhere, like from the trees or whereever else you got those twigs in your hair, but that's _you_, isn't it?"

He had stopped carrying the twigs while she was around, actually. His plants were useful, but he was a human after all, and she was so keen to notice everything that he had to stop. If they had any problems with danger, she was strong enough to deal with it. But then that made this a hard thing to lie about.

So he had to use his best cover. "What smell?" Ignorance.

"Dunno," she answered. She could not decipher the Demon World smell from the others, even if she'd recognize the Demon World smell--she only knew her father and sister. She wouldn't recognize fox demon, either. Though he would have to be careful if he took her to Demon World. Even someone as human as Kuwabara carried that smell with him after all these years, and there would be no masking it.

"We're at my house," she told him, pointing and starting to run. Kurama kept up, but then she paused at the door and turned to him. "What time is it?"

"Midnight," he answered, checking his watch.

"Okay, then. We'll have to be quiet. Kiko's got great hearing, but she's a deep sleeper. Mom and Dad may or may not--"

"Kiko's not here, just come _in_, Mako!" shouted Teruo's voice from the inside. Kurama wouldn't have heard it if he weren't a demon, so he pretended he didn't hear anything, but Mako blushed anyway.

"Or not--Kiko's not here," she said sheepishly as she opened the door and walked in.

To the left, the living room door was opened and Kurama could see Kasumi and Teruo both. Kasumi was lying over her husband's lap with a bottle in one hand. Kasumi was looking at the two of them. "We don't care about you two coming in at night, but don't be secretive about it!" she cried drunkenly. "Hello, Shuuichi," she added. "My, darling, now that I'm seeing you again, my Mako-chan's got great taste in men. Ahhh, if only I were a few years younger!"

Teruo was giving the two of them a rather threatening look, focusing especially hard on Kurama. He was probably displeased at the idea of Kasumi lusting after him (which wouldn't have been a surprise, as Kurama had stolen more than one of Teruo's bedmates in their histories, though rather more as a game than anything. Teruo had charmed his fair share of Kurama's, too.), but then he leaned over his wife in a rather dip-like motion and kissed her. Kurama was waiting for Imako before he moved away, but Mako had a goal, apparently. She did not speak, but instead waited for her father to get up.

"What is it, Mako-chan?" Teruo asked her.

"Shuuichi needs a pair of shorts while we wash his clothes. We climbed that tower outside town and he's covered in whitewash."

Teruo nodded. Mako shut the door and started towards the stairs.

"Do they do that often?" Kurama asked her.

"Not really. Only when Kiko and I aren't home. They were probably counting on us finding somewhere else to be."

Kurama nodded as he followed her up the stairs.

"You can come into my room," she says, "but I'm gonna change in the bathroom. I don't like being naked in front of people."

Kurama almost laughed, but he decided that he could respect that.

"I'll change in your room, then," he told her. She nodded, then went into a room that wasn't hers. Kurama looked in. He smelled Teruo and Kasumi in here. There was a rather full bookshelf, and the futon had been put up and the small window was open. He was rather surprised at the bookshelf. There were books in Japanese and in English and German and French in here, covering whole ranges of subjects, from war to fiction novels, to how-to books, to religious books. None of them seemed that well-read, so he was rather surprised.

Imako was digging in a set of drawers in the closet, until she pulled out what looked like a pair of worn-out soccer shorts with a rather wider-than-Kurama-thought-he-could-wear wiast in them. He wasn't sure they would stay up.

"Mako...?"

"They fit Dadda, they'll fit you," she told him. "He doesn't own much stuff we can just chuck, else I'd give you something like that. But he takes care of his stuff and he likes his stuff to look new, so you're just gonna have to deal."

She tossed them to him, then moved through the doorway, hardly touching him on the way through, and she led him two doors down and across the hall. It would have been over the kitchen.

This room _was_ Mako-chan's. There were several books lying around, and a small washroom connected to this room, and a large bookshelf, and a messy futon. Kurama went to look at her bookshelf. Only Japanese and German, here, but the bottom two shelves were composed entirely of...

"You're an anime fan," he acknowledged, admiring the rather full collection of manga and anime DVD's. Most of them were shounen anime and horror genre and then a few hentai.

"Gee, how'd you guess?"

"Looks more like my kid brother's than a nineteen-year-old girl's," Kurama said with a smile, looking over his shoulder at her.

"You want first bath?" she asked, ignoring his statement. He began to wonder why she was pissed off. Was it her parents?

"That would be nice," he said as he rose to his feet.

She shrugged, then moved to the doorway and pointed down the hall. "Bathroom's there," she said.

* * *

As he ran the water and began to undress, he became aware of the fact that he did not like bathing at other peoples' houses. He didn't let that stop him--he was coated in whitewash, and there was no one but the girl with whom he had "pet", earlier, to walk in on him. 

While he washed, he was thinking.

The idea of choosing a demon mate after deciding to be human was a bad idea. How was he going to explain his lies to her after she figured them out? She was quite intelligent. When she decided to think, anyway, which did not seem to be a hobby of hers, but she was intelligent.

On that note--what had gotten into her? Perhaps she didn't like it when her mother and father did that? Or was it something more complicated? Maybe she was simply tired?

It was probably that last one, he decided as he scrubbed at the layer of white that had managed to get through the loose fibers in his pants.

"Shuuichi?" she called in. She knocked, too. He was still getting the shampoo out of his hair, but he wasn't so disabled by this to not answer her.

"Yes?"

"Just making sure you were alive," she said. He didn't hear her leave, however. She sat down on the floor, next to the door. He waited a few minutes for her to make a loud-enough-sound that he could have heard her.

"Mako-chan, is something the matter?"

A long pause. Oh, so something was wrong. "I know you're a liar. And I know you're hiding something from me. I don't know what, but I know that look Dadda gives you. He gives it to me too often for me to not."

Kurama was silent. He pondered how to answer her.

"I don't lie to you," he lied. He was angry with himself for that answer. Why should he hide what he is from her? he asked himself. She was what he was trying to hide, and she would respect his attempts to stay human. She knew Yuusuke, Kuwabara, and Yukina, as well. Why should he avoid telling her that he was once a demon?

"Mm," she answered in non-committal tones. "Alright, then. You know which is my door. I'll probably be napping. If I'm asleep, wake me up, if I need it," she told him.

He gave her an affirmative grunt that reminded him very much of an old friend that he hadn't seen in a while. He should probably give Hiei a visit, for that matter. He hadn't been to the Makai in a while.

* * *

Imako was lying on her floor in her lynx shape, spread over the floor on her side. 

"Mako-chan," Kurama called to her as he came in. She got up soundlessly, picked up some clothes near her in her teeth, then paced otu the door. Once outside, she said, "You can have the bed," and padded off.

That didn't sound half bad, Kurama decided. He went to the bed next to the window (he was torn between sleeping there and on the floor, because the floor was better-hidden from the window) and he lied himself on the bd anyway and put his feet under the covers (not wanting to get completely under them, so as to keep himself from looking too much like he was making himself at home, and he was asleep before he meant to be.

* * *

(1)Nine inches. 


	11. Mornings in the Ifukube Household

**Living in the Moment: Mornings in the Ifukube Household**

When he finally awoke, Kurama kicked himself bolt upright. It wasn't that he was scared--it was just that he had forgotten about falling asleep in a strange house, and did not remember that it wasn't unusual for this house to be bizarrely loud.

"Sorry about that," said a rather dull version of Imako's voice from next to the door. His clothes were next to her, but she was sitting in her hybrid shape, perched like a bird, staring out of dull yellow eyes. "My house is loud in teh mornings, no matter who's here. It doesn't help that Kiko and Miko are home, either, with Miko's boyfriend. They're in the dining room, so you'll want to avoid them. I'll go get us some breakfast in a little while, and then we can hop out the window."

Kurama almost got the opportunity to ask why she would want to hop out the window, rather than face their family, but then he heard thundering up the stairs, and knew that he would find out why after the twenty-something woman came in and started sticking her rather large nose into her little sister's personal life.

Mako figured this out, too, and whirled herself up and against the door the instant it started to open. It took only a little of Mako's strength to keep it closed, but after Miko started to apply all her weight against it, the door cracked open and Mako had to brace her foot on the underside. Kurama smelled blood.

"Fuck off," Mako said angrily. "First off, we didn't fuck. Second, we're not fucking. Third, even if we did, I wouldn't give you details. I slept in cat-shape on my floor, and if you make me bleed with my door ever again, I'm going to assume aforementioned cat-shape and tear your throat out, 'kay?"

There was silence for a second (on this floor, anyway) until Kimiko finally let it sink in that her younger sister was not happy and was going to continue not being happy, so she turned around with a nervous giggle.

"Trade you information for breakfast," she offered outside the door.

"Bring us some rice bowls and seaweed wraps, then," Imako answered. Kurama wondered why she would be so willing to give information for food, but then he found out that he was remarkably hungry himself, and that to give chosen information to one party would be better than to be drilled for answers by another party.

She looked to Kurama, and he looked back. This would be another one of those times where he would be stricken with just how beautiful she was, and how much he enjoyed being around her. He considered telling her right then and there that he was a demon, but he was never one to act on instinct, and even less one to do something foolish for his feelings. He rose to his feet and picked up his clothes, then went into her bathroom.

When he came out of the bathroom, Mako was holding the door shut again.

"So, what's this about fucking on the water tower?" asked Miko.

Kurama was surprised.

What? Who did she tell!?

"A joke, a joke, dammit!" Mako cried. "What the hell--He kept his underpants so he wouldn't be smearing his junk all over Dadda's shorts!"

"Are you sure?" Kimiko asked, giving her sister a look that screamed volumes.

Imako grinned. Kurama felt his face burning up, but Imako didn't say anything.

Kimiko chuckled and lowered her voice. "Good going. Even I haven't had sex up there, yet. I don't think I'll be able to without leaving town, 'cos now I'll be thinkin' of you doin' it up there. Dammit."

"We didn't have sex," Kurama interjected quietly. He couldn't look at the woman questioning them, but he felt her eyes on him.

"Was there touching?" she demanded.

He didn't answer, hoping Imako would, but that was his question.

"_Well_?"

"Yes."

"Did you come?"

Kurama couldn't even voice his answer. He heard a soft straining while Imako tried to shut her sister out, but Miko apparently knew how to avoid this happening. He eventually nodded, just to stop the fighting.

"Then it was sex."

"Yes, it was, and it was hot, now give us our breakfast and go the hell away."

Miko pushed a tray with two servings of breakfast on it through the door, then left with a wild cackle.

"After we eat, we can jump out the window. I'll live under your bed."

"That sounds good. Dress, eat, and do so?"

"Oh, good, you knew I was serious."

Kurama noticed that she was still in her pajamas. However, she didn't make any note of him while she changed her clothes. She turned her back and removed her shirt. She wasn't wearing a bra, he noticed, but then she started to pull one on.

"Why wear it?" he asked her, unable to find a reason to stop himself.

"Shut up," she answered as she turned to glare at him. She had pulled it on all the way, to Kurama's mild chagrin. Of course, it was white, and the fabric was thin, and it helped that her skin was dark, and her nipples were--"

"Ahem," she said, waving her arm over her breasts. He looked at her face and blushed a little. She was grinning. "I knew I was hot, but damn, man, you've got it bad!"

* * *

The pair of them, mismatched as they were, with he bright and colorful and she dark and... Dark... (there was never such a sap to my intellect like this woman.) made their way back to his house. He could only imagine how it looked to a bystander, watching the pair of them drop out of the window and onto the ground below, then clambering over the fence and running for two blocks.

It was still fairly early--barely dawn. Apparently, Imako's family were naturally nocturnal, and often had to fend this off by sleeping early in the afternoon and then waking up very early in the morning. She had been awake an hour before he woke up.

"Where did you sleep?" he asked her.

"In the floor."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"The fur is a nice cushoin," she told him with a smile, kissing his cheek.

He nodded. He himself did not remember being a fox, or even the beginnings of his life, so he did not know whether or not she was lying to make him feel better. Aside from that, he was preparing a lie to tell his mother. Obviously, he could not tell her that he had climbed the water tower and then gone to sleep at his girlfriend's house (in her bed, no less) while he had his clothes washed. They couldn't have walked for twenty-four hours... Largely, he could tell her the truth. It was a matter of what he would tell her took place in the evening.

They spent the morning walking. An entire six hours, actually--after she met Yuusuke, he could tell her about his friends and their adventures, but not his own. They went to lunch, then went to swim, then went walking again... The second walk was the problem, because . They could have gone to dinner, then to get ice cream and walked again... Caught the last movie at the theater... Gotten home at midnight. His mother was usually in bed before ten at night...

"What am I going to have to lie about?" asked Imako. "I already know you're trying to figure out what to tell your mother."

"You won't have to lie," he told her. "Other than by keeping your mouth shut," he added. "So far, I have decided that we can tell the truth, and, if asked, we went out for dinner and ice cream and a walk, and caught the ten o'clock movie. You can have slept, and I can lie for you if it's brought up."

She nods a little. "Good ice cream. I want more."

"Later, 'Mako-chan," Kurama sighs. "I don't know what to tell her if she's already up."

"Jump through your window and dodge that entirely?"

He paused. Oh, yeah.

"Good point. Will you be sneaking in with me, then? You'll have to stay under my bed."

She nodded. "I can do it," she said cheerfully.

* * *

She and he snuck around to the side of the house and he jumped straight up for the window. He doubted he could make it, but he got his hands on the sill easily. But then he couldn't do anything. The window was closed, and he couldn't brace himself well enough with one hand to open it and climb through.

Imako didn't offer her help, thank goodness, because if she had, he would have to say no, to spare himself the attack to his pride. Instead, she leapt up and landed on the sill with her feet and bent down and opened the window and held it open while he pulled himself through. He nearly knocked her off the sill while he was as it, but she recovered beautifully before she slid in.

Kurama stood very very still at the window after Imako got in and closed the window. He heard nothing but Imako's movement. No one was stirring. Good news.

He undressed and pulled on some boxers, pretending that he didn't know that Imako had turned into a cat and curled under the bed, and was therefore watching him. He slid into the bed. His mother had a habit of looking in on him, despite his age, and even if she didn't, it was a little early to be up, and he didn't want to be awake just yet.

He let his hand drop next to the bed, and at first, she just nipped at his fingers and then started licking his hand. He let her do that for a second, enjoying the sensation (and occasionally getting a strange jolt up his whole arm when she licked the spaces between his fingers with that sandpapery tongue), but then he decided to start scratching behind her ears.

"You have to promise not to purr if my mother comes in," he told her.

"Agreed," she said.

Kurama wondered why on earth he hadn't done this before. They hadn't really touched one another for more than a few minutes, leaving it at soft touches. She had initiated the "session" on top of the water tower, and Kurama had let that take place, and he was glad he had. He had been missing out.


	12. Get a Room

I'm real sorry about taking so long. I have to copy this one, now, plus, sometimes, I decide to write new shite, and my chapters are always really long, and I have work and that sleeping thing needs to happen from time to time...

* * *

**Living in the Moment: Get a Room**

Kurama decided, what the hell? It was just fine if he happened to care about her.

So, naturally, his next decision was that he needed to take some time away from her so that they could try this a little slower.

Unfortunately, neither of them wanted to wait.

Which was why they were both sitting in his room. Kurama's parents were out on a date, his brother was sleeping at a friend's house, and Imako snuck in through the window by sheer coincidence. Imako was lying on the bed, and Kurama was settled in his chair, facing her.

"How are you, Imako-chan?"

"I've grown to love quite because of you. My house sucks now," she told him.

Kurama chuckled, then got to his feet and leaned over the bed to kiss her cheek. Then he moved to his dresser, but then there was a weight on his back, pushing him. He leaned on the desk with his hands, holding himself up, but she took hold of his hands and held them wide, forcing him onto his face over the desk. She then let him up and stood next to him while he rose to his feet. Then she pounced him, knocking him onto his back, and she kissed him violently.

"Come on, demon-boy, fight back," she giggled as she pinned his hands to the floor. "Show me who's boss." The grin on her face was absolutely insane, wild, something he only remembered seeing in the Makai. Kurama was too busy being surprised by the sudden ferocity in his mate to fight back. he was just pressed to the floor on his back, looking stupid. She snapped her teeth at his nose, catching his attention. His instincts were fighting with him. She was being an animal, dammit, play back. There was an itch on his insides that were commanding him to bite back. "Come on, I ain't gonna break," she pushed. "No matter how strong you are."

He decided to agree with his instincts and go ahead and scratch that itch. She was tough. She could take a little demon fox foreplay.

He pushed back against her ridiculously powerful grip until he grasped her wrists in his hands and he worked them up over their heads. She started using her weight in addition to her strength, but that was an angle that she could not work with, and all he had to do was move one leg to the side and knock hers from under her and roll them over so that he was on top.

"Hey. You are strong," she said with a surprise. "I was just playing with you, I think I might be able to do more than that." Her voice was eager and excited. He almost regretted playing back. She rolled again, but he kept the momentum and he stayed on top of her. She grinned and lunged up at him, snapping her teeth firmly, and she put one of her legs between them and put a foot into his belly and pushed. He slid off the top of her, and, seeing his own dilemma, let go of her wrists and let her put him upright.

She sat up on her elbows and grinned again. "Come on, now, we're not done!" she whined.

"We should take this somewhere we've got more room," he said quietly, looking at his desk and at the lamp he almost knocked over.

"Are you suggesting we get a room?" she asked, grinning again and sitting completely upright. Her legs were splayed oddly in front of her, and Kurama was suddenly aware of how much like an animal she could look.

That was not what he had in mind--he was thinking outside, rather than a different inside, but that would work, too. So he decided to pretend that was his idea. "Actually, my love, that is what I was thinking."

"You got work tomorrow, right?" she asked.

"Yes. We won't be sleeping there."

"Aw." She chuckled. "Can we fuck, too?"

Kurama was almost taken aback by the sudden question. Her blatancy was, while refreshing, rather surprising, if not outright choking. He had Yuusuke for this, but it was so strange to hear out of a girl that he could hold a conversation with.

* * *

She was curled up next to the door, waiting for Kurama silently. He was picking a lock on a hotel room door. He was planning on leaving enough money to pay for the room and whatever damages--he just didn't want his name on anything.

"You don't strike me as much of a guy who would break into places. Thief."

"It was a past life," he told her.

"The demon one?"

"Yes. I was a fox," he told her. As it turned out, Teruo hadn't told her a damn thing, so that meant that he could tell her anything that he wanted. The lock gave way, and he opened the door. "There."

As he moved into the room, Imako pounced on him. He had to roll when he hit the floor and he kicked her over his head and threw her on accident.

"That was pretty good," she told him, grinning and giggling as she sat back up.

"Let me put the things that are not bolted down somewhere we will not break them," he pleaded. She nodded, then helped move the table and chairs out of the way.

Then, after they had safed the room from any breakage, he took the initiative and pounced her and pinned her down. She lunged back up at him, swinging him into the floor and nearly ripping his shirt. He called another time-out.

"Hang on!" he cried as she did not let him go. He removed his shirt, and she gave a soft "whoo!" and grinned. "Take it off, baby!" she added in thick English. Kurama blushed, then picked her up and swung her around twice before putting her down and kissing her.

"I'm glad you got over hiding the demonism," she told him, tapping his chest with her forefinger. He kissed her again, but then he found himself on his back on the bed.

"Can we fuck?" she insisted, pressing her hips forward against his hips. "I want to, and I know you want to."

"What makes you so certain that I want to?" she asked snidely. She grinned again and leaned back a little to reach behind her and placed a hand over his sex and rubbing rather sweetly. He grunted before he could stop himself. He tried to stand, but her weight met his momentum hard, and she pinned him down and knocked the breath out of him.

The two of them lay still for a second before she started to make a move, unbuttoning his pants.

After she got them undone, she put her hands in his pockets to pull them down.

Earlier that day, he and Yuusuke and Keiko had gotten together, because Kurama was smart enough to know symbolism enough to tell them what to pick for the wedding. Yuusuke had made a joke about his no-longer-playin' days and he gave Kurama a condom, 'just in case'.

He put the condom in his pocket because he didn't think twice about it.

Imako found it.

"This. Is a condom," Imako said, pulling it out into her palm. "I can't believe. You came prepared." And then she started laughing and pulling his pants down doubly hard, before removing his pants entirely. She tossed the condom onto his bare chest. He was fighting the flush rising in his face, but it didn't work. Instead, he just palmed it. She kissed him again.

"I don't know how to be on top," she reminded him.

"As fierce as you are, you want to lie down and take it?" Kurama mocked playfully. Oh, come now, there had to be more activity than that.

She grinned at him.

"Sounds fun. What have you got in mind?"

He sat up, putting them closer together, and he kissed her, then rose to his feet, holding her legs wrapped around him so that he could carry her more easily. Then he walked to the wall where they had placed the table and let her sit on it before he started fooling with her buttons as well. She started to help, but only got into his very determined way, so she sufficed with the removal of her own t-shirt.

Once he had accomplished his task, he removed her panties, this time more slowly and sensually, as if he meant it. She, rather skillfully, hooked her toes into the waistband of his boxers and pulled them down.

Somehow, being totally naked in front of her wasn't a big deal.

Instead, he stepped closer to her, between her legs, and he leaned over her, guiding her down to lie on the table on her back.

"Are you sure?" he asked her. She kissed him yet again and licked at his nose.

"Don't be a wuss," she scolded lightly.

There was a little rub to the as-so-far limp flesh between his legs, and he moved just a little in surprise. It was the curls of her pubic hair. He hadn't realized how close together they were. Or maybe he did and just wasn't paying attention.

She took the condom from his hand and opened it, then put her hands between them and ran her fingertips up his length carefully, doing something with her palms to the head of it that he nearly fell on top of her again.

"My god, Mako, that's insane... You can't learn all this from dirty books," he said as she slowed down. Then she did it again and his back arched and he groaned.

He, to pay her back the favor, traced his fingers down her belly, starting at the underside of the little gray sports bra (that both had neglected removing, because it wouldn't get in the way very much) and going right between her legs. He played with her clit for a second with his middle finger before sliding a little further down and pushing to the little hole down there before he turned his wrist differently and pushed in.

He curled his finger, rotated it, worked a little on her inner walls, but in the meantime, their mouths and other hands were busy. She was still giving him something close to a handjob, running her fingers along his thighs and his shaft, occasionally taking his balls into her hand and playing with them, while her other hand went up his back, tracing his spine. Her mouth had locked onto his collarbone and was sucking like a newborn baby on a teat.

He had put his face to her neck and was taking in her scent in between kisses and little nips of the flesh. Little bitemarks and hickeys appeared in his wake. His other hand was playing with her side and ribs, fingertips ghosted under her bra and teased her nipple between his forefinger and thumb, and squeezing the little globe.

He pushed a second finger into her, and she tensed and pushed against him with a soft hiss.

"Uhn," she said.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, concerned. If she couldn't take two of his thin fingers...

He continued to work her with his fingers, and she kissed him again, and her hips moved against him. He curled a finger up and dragged downwards, and she gasped and thrust her hips up and forward, and those muscles squeezed his fingers. Ah, there it is."

"Did I find something?" he teased, trying to ignore how much his fingers hurt. He pressed her hips down and did it again, and then a third time.

"Stop that!" she begged. He started to put in a third finger. She groaned again and twisted a little. "Babe, just give it to me, I've had enough of this foreplay crap," she commanded, wrapping her hands around his shoulders. "I'm a demon--I'm not gonna break."

He looked down to make sure the condom was still on, and he was still sufficiently hard (not that she hadn't been playing with him enough to keep him basically on the edge the entire time), and then he moved a little and pushed the head to the opening of her little honeypot before giving a little push. It didn't give him much go. He pushed again, and she groaned, but that didn't help. Until, suddenly, he got the head in. She cried out and whined. He suddenly realized that, in a thousand years, he had never had sex with a virgin before.

She was obviously in pain. A sweat had broken out on her forehead, and her face had twisted.

"I'll stop..." he offered.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him closer, groaning a little as she did so.

"Like hell. Just. Let. I don't know. Keep going," she commanded, breathing slowly and heavily.

"Alright," he agreed. "Now, get your claws out of my back."

The moment he had tried to push into her, her grip tightened around his shoulders so much that he was certain he was bleeding.

This time, he leaned down and gave her neck a bite, closing his teeth and gritting harder as he pressed his hips to hers, until, finally, he managed to push into her.

"Ah..." she groaned. "Ah, ah, ah... I knew it would hurt, but damn..."

He held still, waiting for her to adjust. It didn't take long. Demon women were resiliant, and Imako was half-human, but that half-human was tough.

He waited for the look on her face to go back to normal, and she leaned up a little and kissed him, then pulled him to her with her legs that were still locked around his back. He started to rock his hips back and forth, expertly moving them alone, rolling them, if he said so himself, rather smoothly. Imako started to move against him as well, as soon as she got the rhythm. The warmth surrounding him, the little muscles spasming around him, the wonderful feeling of sinking again and again into that heat...

She started to moan, as well, rolling her head back and closing her eyes and giving little grunts and groans, whispering, "Ah, keep going, keep going..."

Until, suddenly, she started to do something different, and he, for a third time in their activities, nearly fell down on top of her. His hips froze in their motion for a second, and his eyes closed. Then he started to work his hips again, but the pressure around him was beyond what it was before, and was now squeezing him to the brink of coming, each motion he made.

"Ah, god, what are you doing?" he groaned.

"I wanted to see if I could make you come like that," she answered in a hollow voice.

"You're so young," he answered in a whisper into her ear. "The goal is to drag it out as long as possible, didn't you know that?" With that, he moved her ear aside with his nose, and kissed the space behind her ear.

"Well, make the long time interesting for me," she commanded with a chuckle. "Speed up or get up so I can play, 'cos this table's in my way."

Kurama smiled. She had no idea what she was asking for, did she?"

He sat up, picking her up with him, and he pulled her off the table and put her to the wall. Like this, they had more leverage. She took full advantage of it, beginning to roll her hips against him, taking as much of him as she could in and kissing him over and over again as they thrust to meet each other.

The sensation for her was amazing. His length was slightly curved, just right to drag over her g-spot, so when he moved just right, she could hardly see straight, let alone play back. He would pull back nearly all the way, and then thrust right back into her. She kept moaning and groaning, and their mouths would meet almost violently again and again.

Then, suddenly, she was back on the table, being pounded into it. No complaints. She simply had to shift strategies to take more of him in.

He pressed his hands to her thighs to keep her from sliding over the table, but that didn't keep it from wobbling dangerously. Then, suddenly, he leaned down and lunged and wrapped his arms around her, right about the same time she realized she was falling. The table had broken. She caught his neck and he moved her to the bed. Walking made it feel slightly stranger than normal, but it was still pleasant, but then he got her to the bed and started working her into it, pulling one of her legs over his shoulder and pressing closer to her.

"Next time, we're gonna have to do foreplay," she grunted into his ear.

"Agreed," he grunted.

She got bored again. She started working her inner muscles again. He suddenly groaned and leaned back, but continued to work, going even harder and going at every angle he could, until, finally, he gave a rather beautifully gutteral moan. She didn't feel anything, but then he started to push even harder and more frantically, until, suddenly, she felt it, everything, and her spine arched and her legs shook and the most incredible feeling washed over her. Her eyes closed and she shivered.

"Ah, god, Shuuichi," she sighed.

He moved off her and flopped onto his back on the bed. He seemed worn out. She was more awake than she'd ever been. So she sat up and looked at the table and the wall.

"We broke both of them?" she laughed.

"The wall has a dent," Kurama corrected. "We only broke the table. And the lamp. I don't think you noticed, but I knocked that with my arm while I was going to catch you."

She looked at him. His not-quite-tanned skin shone with sweat and his bright green eyes had been narrowed, and his mouth was open and panting. His hair was spread out over the bed and framing his face rather delicately.

"Man, if you were a chick, you'd be _hot_," Imako told him, smiling. "Your afterglow's hot."

"And yours looks like you just murdered someone," Kurama answered, smirking, removing the condom and putting it into the wastebasket next to the desk in the room.

She stood up, and then the bed made a loud noise. She froze, then dropped to the floor and looked underneath. She reappeared after a second, grinning maniacally.

"We broke the bed."

Kurama chuckled. "Interesting. Would you like to shower before we get on our way?"

Imako nodded, then took his hand and pulled him to his feet and skipped off to the bathroom.

Kurama followed her and waited for a second while she adjusted the temperature and removed her bra. Then she stepped in and moved to the very very front. Kurama moved behind her, but then she scooted just a little bit back so that three of the bottom streams of water hit her head and ran down her whole body.

Both of them were still, neither washing, and both just enjoying it. But then Imako looked at him over her shoulder.

"Hey. Ever wondered what it's like to fuck in the shower?"

He didn't need to be asked twice.

She lunged at him, jumping lightly. He caught her and held her so that she could figure out that he was going to hold her up again, and she wrapped her legs around him. On the way up, she turned the water cold, sensitizing his skin and sending goosebumps over both their entire bodies. Her hard nipples poked him in the chest, and he was so surprised that he actually looked down to see what had touched him. She giggled and bit his earlobe. He moved to the wall and let her lean there, and then kissed her.

Her hands wandered his body, fingertips tracing his cold skin, going down the sides of his head, down his face, over his neck, and then one hand went down his chest while the other trailed down his back, going down his spine. She started to use her nails as she moved them back up his chest and back.

For a long time, he let her just touch him, kissing him, running her hands through his hair and over his body, pressing closely to him... It was enough to get him to climax right then and there.

By the time she started paying attention to his Little Fox(1), he was hard enough for her to sit on. She had been shielding it from the cold water with her smooth rump, but then she moved back and it hurt so much when the cold water hit it. Then it hurt even more when her heat enveloped him, and she began to ride him. He didn't have to do anything this time--she just worked her legs and hips and waist as he supported her weight at her thighs.

He leaned her against the wall and let his head drop to her neck and shoulder. Imako continued to work with him--her hot "lips" were wrapped around his length, her insides worked relentlessly on him, nearly ripping his orgasm out of him, though he tried his damnedest to hold on.

"Go for it, I've had mine for the night," she whispered into his ear before returning her sharp teeth to the skin right below and behind his ear.

After a few minutes, he had had all he could take, but this time, they were in the shower, and he wasn't wearing a condom, so he pulled out. A stream of white hit the wall and slid down and washed down the drain. Imako watched it (he had nearly dropped her), and smiled at him, then kissed him again and stepped out of the shower, drying off along the way. It would be a long walk home, but they were just fine with that.

* * *

(1)What else would he call it?! I almost said "Little Kurama" but it just didn't seem to fit. 


	13. Author's Note

Hey, guys, um. 

I wanna rewrite. That's a problem when you post up whatever you have. So.

Since I know a bunch of you have me on alert, I'm just gonna... I'm gonna take down parts of it and start the rewrite. 'cos. I mean, I kinda. I'm sorry, really, I am, but I wanna put in stuff and stuff.

Thank you very much for being such good fans, and stuff. I promise, I'll get it back up ASAFP.

-R.F.


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